Lost and Confused
by Accidentally Lost
Summary: Lily Adelaide Barnes has no clue how she ended up in the Marvel universe, but she isn't just going to sit back and watch things happen. She's determined to cause chaos, make mischief, and give Fury hell.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers or anything that looks familiar.

A/N I've been reading fanfiction for a couple years but was previously too nervous to actually write/publish it. I hope you like it!

Lily Adelaide Barnes was a well-behaved student in her classes. Lily Adelaide Barnes got top marks on her tests effortlessly. Lily Adelaide Barnes was ostracized by her peers for being superior. Lily Adelaide Barnes hated her home life. Lily Adelaide Barnes was probably a genius.

Lily Adelaide Barnes was.

Lily Adelaide Barnes isn't anymore- not after she was smashed by a car on her walk home.

Or at least, she shouldn't have been anymore.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Pain: the physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury. For a disorienting moment, Lily could not understand why a dull pain lingered in her limbs as she woke up. Then the memory of a truck driver blaring its horn at her before it flung her onto the distinctly uncomfortable road returned to her.

Unwilling to open her eyes after her disconcerting revelation, Lily pondered the events which had occurred.

It had started out as a normal day. Two hours before school started, Lily awoke and quietly stretched before beginning her daily 100 push-ups and sit-ups, desperate to remain in top physical condition. Then she showered, got dressed, and walked to school. She was not able to eat breakfast, as her mother had already blown her paycheck on alcohol. Everything was normal.

At school, Lily suffered through her classes. She felt her classmates' hatred as her Spanish teacher announced that she was the only student with an A on their test. She loathed her math teacher as he sat at his desk texting rather than teaching. She questioned Mrs. Smith's sanity as the batty old woman enforced group work for the end of year history project. During lunch, she caught sight of her former friends and struggled to retain her passive expression. It wasn't as if she ever actually liked them-they were condescending, insecure fools- she just couldn't help but miss the protection they had provided, even poor acquaintances can be decent shields- protecting from isolation and despondency. After lunch, and two more anxiety-inducing yet remarkably easy classes, Lily was finally free to walk home. Everything was normal.

After the crash her former friends would probably claim that she had gotten hit on purpose, Lily had always said that she would die young. It hadn't been intentional on her part, but Lily had a sneaking suspicion that the crash was not the most important thing to worry about at the moment. She could hear too much traffic around her and there was a distinctly non-California sting of cold weather on her bare arms. Enjoying one last moment of peace, Lily opened her eyes to see a cloudy gray sky hanging over a vast array of skyscrapers and mazelike streets. Everything was not normal.

Lily Adelaide Barnes had never been more certain of the fact that she was not where she should be.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Lily Adelaide Barnes had never been more aware of the fact that she should not exist anymore.

Not when a truck had hit her, sending her flying through the air and landing on the hard street. Not when she could feel warm, sticky blood leaking out of her from countless scrapes and punctures. Not when her vision had become obscured by blackness, until there was finally silence.

Then her eyes had opened back up and she found herself in a city which she had only previously seen in movies- New York City. She dazedly swung her legs off of what she discovered to be a park bench and sat, contemplating what she should do.

By all accounts, she should be dead- there was too much blood loss for her to have survived a trip to the hospital-let alone a trip across the country to a random park bench in New York City. Yet here she was, an ache in her bones and blood on her shirt- now hidden by her hoodie- lacking any actual bleeding wounds of which she should have many.

Lily doubted that this was some sort of heaven, she had more than her fair share of mistakes and guilt weighing on her heart. Besides, heaven's entrance probably isn't a nasty park bench in New York.

She figured that finding food and maybe a newspaper seemed like the best course of action. And luck must be on her side because almost as soon as she started walking, she found a newspaper stand.

"Excuse me, sir," she stuttered out to the vender, "could I borrow one of your papers?"

Lily had feared that the man would be reluctant to give away a potential sale to some good-for-nothing kid on the streets, but when he saw her disheveled condition, his eyes softened and he muttered a "sure, kid" before passing her a wrinkled copy of the New York Times.

She accepted the paper with a soft "thanks" and continued her search for food. As she walked, she began browsing the paper, irking many passerbys whom she nearly bumped into.

 _Stocks: no, not necessary right now. Mysterious occurrence: none unless I'm going to count the man who ate forty hotdogs. Sports: irreleva- WAIT this says the date is November 24, 2009. That's it. I've gone mental. I'm in a coma. Someone slipped me drugs. This is just a crazy dream._

Lily slumped against the wall of a store, desperately attempting to avoid hyperventilating.

 _I just need to find a phone or a computer. That guy probably just wanted to pull a dumb prank. It's 2017. I'm almost done with high school and can escape to college soon. This is just a joke. It has to be a prank._

Calming down, Lily turned her gaze to a jumbotron hanging on a nearby skyscraper. It was just a press conference for some guy. Actually, he looked a lot like Robert Downey Jr. Curious, she stayed where she was, content to see a bit of the press conference before facing her many issues.

"There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop-"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you-"

"I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

At this Lily smirked. _It's must just be some sort of theater group getting recognized for re-filming Iron Man. I've gotta admit, their Tony Stark is almost spot on._

Lily refocused to catch the finale. "The truth is, I am Iron Man." The words were defiantly spoken, and Lily suppressed a smile at the wonderful acting. But, the end credits didn't begin and instead the camera showed Stark exiting with some military dude and an orange-haired woman- must be the actors for Rhodes and Pepper.

As the screen continued to show the reporters in chaos as Stark exited the press conference, Lily began to feel dread in the pit of her stomach.

The newspaper. The news.

It should be impossible, then again her survival should be impossible too.

Lily Adelaide Barnes should not exist anymore.

Lily Adelaide Barnes should definitely not be in the Marvel universe.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers or anything that looks familiar.

A/N When I woke up to see that I had my first review AND followers, I emitted a noise that can only be likened to that of a love-struck tyrannosaurus-rex. I really appreciate you guys! I will try to update a couple times a week, but I have a busy schedule, so some weeks I might only have one new chapter.

TheMamaBear: Thanks for your review! At the moment, I don't intend for Lily to be related to/ descended from Bucky Barnes, but she might use her last name as part of some shenanigan, scheme, or deception.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _As the screen continued to show the reporters in chaos as Stark exited the press conference, Lily began to feel dread in the pit of her stomach._

 _The newspaper. The news._

 _It should be impossible, then again her survival should be impossible too._

 _Lily Adelaide Barnes should not exist anymore._

 _Lily Adelaide Barnes should definitely not be in the Marvel universe._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Lily Adelaide Barnes could confidently conclude a number of things after visiting a library. She hadn't been purposefully searching for a library, but after her shocking revelation the sight of a library was comforting and she simply had to enter. The old public computers in a quiet corner of the library offered her all the information that she needed.

A quick search for the actors of the avengers revealed that they still existed and looked the same as they always had, whereas Tony Stark looked a bit different- still similar to how he looked in the movies, but a bit taller, his face a bit more defined. So she would not be able to rely on previous knowledge of characters to recognize everybody on sight.

Also, Lily could find no evidence of her own life. She had never had social media- thinking it a waste of time- but she did have an email and there were a few mentions of her name in the local newspaper. Now, searching her name she found nothing noteworthy, and trying to sign-in to her email led her to the words "Username not valid" glaring brightly at her despondent face.

It isn't as if she ever really liked her name- she thought that the name Lily was hardly suited to herself, as it means purity and innocence, and Adelaide sounds snobbish, and Barnes was just one of many men whom her mother had a child with, and the initials LAB could easily stand for Life's A Burden- but the name was _hers_ and that must count for something.

 _Then again_ , she mused, _this could be a fresh start. No more mistakes weighing on my mind. A clean slate. But I don't have any records to go to school and it'll be pretty tough to get those. Although,_ she thought with a smirk, _I happen to know a lot of classified SHIELD intel._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Lily set out from the library, determination in her footsteps and confidence coloring her vision. She had devised a decent plan and was certain that should anything go wrong she could improvise.

The first thing she needed was cardboard, a pen, and a public place. Then, she would wait.

Cardboard was quickly located- unfortunately, Lily had to dumpster dive to reach it- and a pen was borrowed from some volunteer guy handing out fliers. When Lily approached him asking to borrow a pen, his eyes widened slightly as he took in her disheveled appearance, and he reached into his wallet to give her a $20 bill as well. Lily hadn't really needed money for this plan, but who was she to refuse free money.

The public place required a bit more work. Lily discovered that the bench she had woken up on was a part of Central Park, and by this point she had wandered at least a mile away. A quick conversation with a woman sitting behind a newspaper stand informed Lily that Times Square was within a mile west of her location. A short journey later and Lily found herself staring around herself in awe.

Times Square was unlike anything she had ever witnessed before. Movies, pictures, descriptions cannot do it justice. Cars trickle through, each carrying a different person with a different story, as lights and advertisements flash indiscriminately on the busy masses. The sheer amount of people pressing and flowing around Lily was unfathomable, and she suddenly felt so small, isolated, as if her past, her plans, her knowledge of the future were insignificant schemes devised by a naïve child.

Finding an unoccupied section of wall with a security camera pointed almost directly at her, Lily sat and uncapped the pen, scrawling out her message on the cardboard and setting the sign next to her. She had spun her web, now she just needed to sit back and wait until it caught the right flies.

As she waited, biding her time, Lily began to ruminate about her name.

 _No matter what I say my name is, there won't be a record of my existence, and a new name could be nice. What should I call myself, then? If I name myself after a licensed Coca-Cola product I could get free college tuition. No, if my plans go well, then I will already get that. If it was an Olive Garden menu item I could eat there free. I would probably regret that, though. I want it to be meaningful or maybe something exotic._

Lily thought to her limited knowledge of other languages. A lot of Spanish and German, some swears in Russian, basic Japanese from an old acquaintance.

 _Yes, something Japanese. I hardly talked to Himari after she moved, but she was always so kind._ Lily racked her brain, desperately trying to remember names which she learned so long ago. _Perhaps Hinata- no, that's too similar to Himari. Maybe Inari, it means "successful one" and a bit of extra luck couldn't hurt. Or Ryo, there were a lot of meanings for that, but they were all pretty good "distant, defy, understand, reality". Actually, I like that better than Inari, so it should be the first name. Now, I just need a last name, maybe something else to remind me of home._

Lily sighed, leaning her head back further against the wall behind her. _If I'm going to be in the Marvel universe then maybe it should be something for Luke._ Luke was one of Lily's many half-siblings and was absolutely enamored with everything Marvel. _I guess he wouldn't mind if I borrowed his last name._

And so it was that the weary girl sitting with a sign in Times Square was no longer Lily Adelaide Barnes, and was instead Ryo Inari Noble, a girl armed with nothing but her cunning and her knowledge.

In that moment, Lily Adelaide Barnes ceased to exist and Ryo Inari Noble's new life began.

And a hand-written sign glared at a surveillance camera, soon to be seen by SHIELD and set her plans into motion.

 **"Nick Fury, I have vital information for SHIELD. Fail to contact me directly by sundown and I will sell intel to other interested parties."**

 **~{TBC}~**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers or anything that looks familiar.

A/N I'm happy that you guys are enjoying the story. Thanks for all of the favorites, follows, and reviews! I will try to keep updating every couple of days.

TheMamaBear: I'm glad you like the new name! I don't know Japanese, I just did a lot of research to find a nice name, thank you for offering your help.

oOAngelwithaBrokenHaloOo: Glad to hear that you like it! Here's the new chapter.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _In that moment, Lily Adelaide Barnes ceased to exist and Ryo Inari Noble's new life began._

 _And a hand-written sign glared at a surveillance camera, soon to be seen by SHIELD and set her plans into motion._

 ** _"Nick Fury, I have vital information for SHIELD. Fail to contact me directly by sundown and I will sell intel to other interested parties."_**

~{I'm just a line break}~

To describe Nicholas J. Fury as mad would be comparable to calling Antarctica a little chilly. Nick's day had become a series of increasingly irritating incidents and his patience had been worn down enough for pure, fiery anger to leak through- frightening a number of low-level SHIELD agents.

He had been woken in the middle of the night to be informed about an incident between two mechanical suits, and almost as quickly as the fight had started, it ended, allowing for a SHIELD team to discover that the battle had involved one of his newest annoyances- Tony Stark. Fury instructed one of his most trusted agents, Phil Coulson, to construct an alibi and official statement for Stark in order to conceal the disturbance from the public. By this point, returning to sleep was impossible, and Fury was forced to begin his workday, cursing Stark all the while.

A broken coffee machine, sneezy intern, and stack of paperwork later and Nick was naïve enough to believe that his day was improving, until suddenly Maria Hill rushed into his office, tablet in hand, "Sir, I think you'll want to see this," she informed him as she set the tablet on his desk and began playing a video.

The irksome face of Tony Stark stretched across the screen and Fury instinctually knew that whatever Stark had to say would make him truly furious.

"I never said you were a superhero," a reporter was saying to Stark.

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic. I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public," at this point the man next to Stark leaned over and whispered something in his ear, before Stark continued, "The truth is I am Iron Man."

The room of the press conference came alive with activity, as reporters clamored for more information as Stark pushed his way through the crowd, exiting with Coulson at his heels. Fury leaned back into his chair, silently wondering why he ever thought it would be a good idea to become the director of SHIELD.

"Sir, what do you suggest that we do?" Agent Hill queried cautiously, looking to Fury for instructions.

"It's about damn time I meet Stark myself." Fury growled, standing from his desk and pacing towards the door.

Fury doubted that his day could get any worse, so as he sat in a private helicopter on his way to meet Stark, he was surprised by the frantic ringing of his cellphone.

"Sir, it seems that we have another problem," the modulated voice of Agent Coulson rang from the phone and Fury cursed his luck. "An unknown is threatening to sell classified intel."

"What do you mean unknown? What exactly did they say?"

"A girl appeared in Times Square approximately thirty minutes ago, and is holding a sign that reads 'Nick Fury, I have vital information for SHIELD. Fail to contact me directly by sundown and I will sell intel to other interested parties.' Facial recognition software has failed to recognize her, and I find it concerning that she is asking for you by name."

"I'm on my way to meet with Stark. Coulson, I want you to meet with her, find out how much she knows, and don't allow her to release any information, we already have enough of a mess to deal with thanks to Stark. And keep running background checks on her, she can't be a ghost."

"Yes, sir."

~{I'm just a line break}~

Cars flashed past, bright paint shining in the afternoon sun as Ryo waited for a response. She had anticipated that it would take a bit of time for Fury to respond. She had NOT anticipated the uncomfortable itching of her blood-stained shirt scratching her skin. But at least she had her jacket to cover the stains, so that there wouldn't be a commotion over her nonexistent injuries. Of course, there was still a bit of blood showing- streaks on her cheek that she had failed to fully wipe off, a dry crust of blood on her ear, a patch on her jeans that camouflaged with the dark fabric-but overall she looked fairly normal for someone who was bleeding out earlier that day.

People rushed past her, few of them taking notice of the young girl with a strange sign, too busy on their phones or thinking of their destination. Large feet and small, clean and dirty, young and old, rich and poor feet blurred together into a meaningless crowd of small people with small problems. And then one particular pair of feet stopped in front of her and Ryo looked up, up to the solemn, serious face of Phil Coulson.

"Miss, I must ask you to come with me." Coulson said in an authoritative voice, leaving little room for argument.

"Of course, Phil. Why on earth would I refuse to attend a meeting which I requested?" Ryo leapt up, brushing a bit of dirt off herself and struggling to refrain from laughing- it wouldn't do to come across as insane on her first meeting with SHIELD.

In all of his years as a SHIELD agent, Coulson could confidently say that he had never been more intimidated of an unknown person than he was of this scrawny teenager. This scrawny teenager with flecks of blood framing bright, cunning eyes. This scrawny teenager who had caused a panic at SHIELD. This scrawny teenager who appeared in New York City without a past. This scrawny teenager who orchestrated a meeting with the most powerful intelligence organization in the world. This scrawny teenager who could so casually reveal her knowledge of his identity with a smirk on her face and a chirp in her voice.

With a sinking feeling in his chest, Agent Phil Coulson wished that he could go back to dealing with Tony Stark- even Stark must be better than this unknown.

Ryo smiled and cheerfully began humming the Avengers theme song as a firm hand on her shoulder guided her towards an inconspicuous black van.

The party was just getting started, and Ryo Inari Noble was determined to make it memorable.

 **~{TBC}~**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers or anything that looks familiar.

A/N Sorry that it took longer than normal. Also, I noticed a comma in the last chapter that was completely out of place, I'm so sorry about any grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors that you may come across. Thank you so much for all of your favorites, follows, and reviews. I'm glad to answer any questions you have and if you have an idea for the story I would love to hear it.

nightmarehunter676: Glad you like it.

Guest: Good to hear that you're intrigued, here's more!

Yeet: It's great to hear that you like this sort of fic. I'll make it as good as I can.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _With a sinking feeling in his chest, Agent Phil Coulson wished that he could go back to dealing with Tony Stark- even Stark must be better than this unknown._

 _Ryo smiled and cheerfully began humming the Avengers theme song as a firm hand on her shoulder guided her towards an inconspicuous black van._

 _The party was just getting started, and Ryo Inari Noble was determined to make it memorable._

~{I'm just a line break}~

A black void stretched itself across Ryo's vision and cold metallic cuffs bit into skinny wrists. This was not a part of her plans. Not that it would ruin them in any way, it was just an annoying inconvenience. As soon as she was shoved into it, the doors of the van were shut, a blindfold was shoved onto her face before her eyes could adjust to the dim interior and all she saw were the outlines of several agents before the world went dark. Chilling metal handcuffs soon followed the blindfold and her mocking comments to Coulson were met with silence. Ryo lost track of time as the van drove quickly, twisting and turning- likely backtracking and circling to lose any possible followers- slinging her against the silent guards on either side of her at every turn.

After what could have been an eternity, though it was likely only half an hour, the van slowed before finally coming to a stop. Heavy headphones were carefully secured over Ryo's ears before she was pulled from the van. Once again, a firm hand was placed on her shoulder as a pair of hands grabbed her wrists and Ryo was guided forward. Stumbling through a maze of hallways, practically being carried at every set of stairs, and tripping at unexpected moments, Ryo finally came to a stop for a moment before being shoved into a new room and guided to a cold chair and table at which her hands were chained to the center of the table and her ankles were guided into shackles attached to the floor.

After another pause the headphones and blindfold were peeled away and bright, burning light shone into Ryo's eyes. Blinking against the blinding new light, Ryo finally saw Coulson once again, now casually seated across from her in the interrogation room.

"Are you ready to discuss your so called vital information now?" A calm smile was stretched across Coulson's face, but a hard glint gleamed from his eyes and Ryo felt her heart pound faster in anticipation of her plans.

"As you may recall, I offered information specifically to Nick Fury. I understand that he is likely dealing with Stark at the moment and it was necessary for him to send you in his stead, but I am perfectly willing to wait for him to return."

Coulson leaned closer, "you aren't in any position to be bargaining with SHIELD, and your threats to leak information won't intimidate us."

"What I mean to say is that I intend to discuss my knowledge with Fury, not one of his subordinates. And my comment about selling information was not a threat. It was an exaggerated phrase designed to further my uncompromising stance. I was taught never to make a threat unless you are prepared to carry it out and I am not a fan of carrying anything. Even watching other people carrying things makes me uncomfortable. Mainly because of the possibility they may ask me to help." By this point Ryo had gradually leaned further and further forward until she was almost nose-to-nose with Coulson, she abruptly backed away once more, slouching against the chair as if she had said all she intended to.

There was a threatening tightness in Coulson's voice as he responded, "You've showed up out of nowhere and supposedly have important information. You're making my men, some of the most highly trained professionals in the world, look like a bunch of minimum wage mall cops trying to find a rogue thief. That's hurtful." A smile played at the corner of Ryo's mouth as she recognized the speech as almost the same one that Coulson would eventually use on Thor. "Why don't you tell me where you received your information? Russia? Chechnya? Japan? You strike me as the easily-influenced type, probably didn't intend to get caught up in criminal activity. Certain groups pay very well for a good mercenary like you. Who are you? One way or another, we'll find out what we need to know. We're good at that."

"I doubt you'll have any luck in your search, but go ahead and try. Or you could just wait for Fury to return." Ryo's words were met with silence so she continued. "For an intelligence agency, you lot seem awfully frightened of intelligence, after all, I'm just an ordinary teenager-"

"Ordinary teenagers wouldn't have flecks of blood on their face, but I guess that since you're just an ordinary teenager I don't need to send a doctor in here when I leave." With this final statement, Coulson began scooting his chair back, rising from his seat and walking towards the door.

 _So that's his plan,_ Ryo thought victoriously, _he doesn't know that I'm actually healed, so he thinks I'll talk if it gets me medical treatment._ "The only person you need to send in here is Director Fury. Don't keep me waiting."

Her words were met with the sound of the door closing and a heavy lock sliding into place.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Nicholas J. Fury's day didn't improve any as it drew to a close. Fury arrived at Tony Stark's mansion to invite the genius to join the Avengers Initiative, but the brat rejected his offer, going so far as to say that he didn't want to join Fury's "super secret boyband" and that he had no interest in working for SHIELD.

As Fury sat in a helicopter, being flown back to headquarters, his phone vibrated from his pocket and Nick reluctantly answered it, cursing as he was forced to accept that his day was not over yet. "Coulson, this better be good news."

"Unfortunately not, sir. I had a team assist me in bringing in the unknown earlier today, and she came willingly, but since then we have been unable to find information on her and I was unable to learn anything of importance from my informal interrogation with her. She insists that she will only give her information to you."

"I'm on my way back to headquarters now, I should be there in twenty minutes. She'd better be ready to talk when I get there. Are there any other inconveniences that I should be aware of?" Fury growled out.

"Not that I know of, sir. I'll be waiting for you at the landing pad."

~{I'm just a line break}~

In an immaculate interrogation room, a small figure slouched tiredly against a cold table, hands shackled to the table and legs attached to the floor. Ryo was tired. And bored. And impatient.

That all changed when a scraping metallic sound echoed through the room as the door was unlocked and thrown open. Nick Fury paused in the entrance for a moment before striding into the room with Coulson at his heels. The room was silent except for the swishing of Fury's trench coat as he strode to the chair across from Ryo and sat down. Coulson shut the door and leaned against it, observing the scene.

"So, you're the little hellion that wanted to speak to me," Fury remarked, leaning closer to Ryo, "Start talking."

"Yes, sir" Ryo chirped cheekily, "Ask whatever you want."

"Who are you?"

"Ryo Inari Noble. You can just call me Ryo."

"Who sent you?"

"No one."

"That's unlikely. What were you doing earlier today?"

"Nothing much."

"No one gets blood on them by doing nothing much. Why did you contact me?"

 _Ding! Ding! Ding! And there's the million dollar question,_ Ryo thought to herself. "I have a considerable amount of information that you will be interested in. In exchange for my cooperation, you will provide me with the necessary documentation to attend the college of my choice as well as enough money for me to live in an apartment and purchase basic food and necessities until I have a job with which I can afford to pay for such things myself."

At this, Coulson interjected from his position by the door, a shining tablet in hand. "Sir, the background checks for Ryo Inari Noble have been unsuccessful, she's lying."

Fury scowled, turning his attention back to Ryo "Do you really expect to fool an organization like SHIELD with such pathetic lies?"

"Fury, dangerous times are coming. I just want to prevent a bit of collateral damage while helping myself at the same time," Ryo hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words to explain herself, "Stark may have rejected your offer today, but there will come a time when he and others will need to be called upon to save a lot of people-"

"Where have you been getting your information?" Fury interrupted harshly. "I hadn't informed anyone about Stark's answer yet."

"I just know some things. It's difficult to explain how, but that isn't important. The fact is that you need me if you want to keep innocent civilians from dying." Ryo hadn't expected that it would take this long to convince Fury to trust her and she was growing desperate.

"I'm not going to put any faith in a flimsy excuse like that," Fury thundered angrily, standing from his chair, "Coulson, put her in holding cell 12, we'll continue this tomorrow."

Ryo's eyes widened in panic. "Next year is 2010, right? At the beginning of June, Thor will show up. When he does, maybe then you'll trust my word." Her words echoed out the corridor and Fury paused only for a moment to listen to her before departing.

Coulson unchained Ryo's legs from the floor and wrists from the table and guided her out of the room.

Ryo Inari Noble had failed to convince Fury to trust her.

She had placed all her chips on this play and now she was worse off than when she had started.

Ryo's knowledge had amounted to nothing.

All she had was her cunning and will to survive in this harsh new world.

It was up to her to save herself.

 **~{TBC}~**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers or anything that looks familiar.

A/N Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear your ideas. Sorry that it took so long to update, I had a ton of projects and finals.

Pastel-Potatoes: Yay! I love long reviews. There are going to be character flaws coming up soon, Ryo definitely won't be nice to some of her teammates. It's great to hear that you're hooked, and I'll try to not change the characters too much. I'll keep in mind your suggestion about not making Fury a softie. Thank you for taking the time to give feedback.

Geust: I think you may have mistakenly left a review because "Aluysia" doesn't really make sense, but thanks anyways!

oOAngelwithaBrokenHaloOo: Thanks for the support, here's more!

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _So that's his plan, Ryo thought victoriously, he doesn't know that I'm actually healed, so he thinks I'll talk if it gets me medical treatment._

 _"The background checks for Ryo Inari Noble have been unsuccessful, she's lying."_

 _"I'm not going to put any faith in a flimsy excuse like that," Fury thundered angrily, standing from his chair, "Coulson, put her in holding cell 12, we'll continue this tomorrow."_

 _Ryo's knowledge had amounted to nothing._

 _All she had was her cunning and will to survive in this harsh new world._

 _It was up to her to save herself._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Holding cell 12 was empty. Blank walls closing in the room. Bright, harsh lights glaring down on Ryo's face. Silence, except for the soft, jagged breaths coming from Ryo as she sat slumped against the wall.

Ryo had been so foolish, so arrogant. She gambled with her freedom and expected that her little plan would be enough for her to win, expected that her plan would let her stand nose-to-nose with the most powerful organization in the world. And here she was, all alone in her little prison after Coulson left her with a vague "I'll be back soon" and the door's lock slid into place.

Ryo's stomach growled and she sighed quietly. _I guess it makes sense, I haven't eaten for a while, after all. It was- when was it? I haven't eaten since before I woke up in the park, during lunch I studied rather than eat alone, mom blew her paycheck already, so I didn't get breakfast. I ate last during dinner yesterday. Is it even called yesterday anymore? It was April 2017 this morning and now it's supposed to be October 2010. I'm so confused. I just want to- NO. I will not sit and wallow in my pity, I need a new plan._

Before Ryo had the chance to make a new plan, a slow clicking sound echoed through the door before it was cautiously pushed open, revealing two figures. The first was Coulson- a tray of food in one hand as the other hand twitched near the gun and Taser on his belt. The second figure was a woman wearing a thin white lab coat with a medical bag clutched in her hand.

Coulson paused in the door, observing the prisoner who sat limply against the wall, before beckoning his companion to enter and shutting the cell once more. "Dr. Wells, here's the person I was just informing you about, I'll stand guard and leave you to your work." A moment of hesitation from the newly dubbed Dr. Wells prompted Coulson to question, "Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all. I just didn't expect her to be so young," Dr. Wells responded before squaring her shoulders, adjusting her glasses, and striding closer to Ryo. "Hello, Ms. Noble. My name is Carrie Wells. I'm here to make sure that you aren't suffering from injuries for the duration of your stay-"

"You make it sound like I'm on a vacation rather than locked up like a criminal." Ryo's harsh words were met with silence, so she sighed and continued, "whatever, just don't take too long. I'm more interested in that tray of food that Phil is holding."

Dr. Wills sighed disappointedly, obviously upset with the results of her effort at friendliness, before crouching on the floor beside Ryo and unzipping her medical bag. "I need you to remove your jacket."

Ryo's eyes widened for a moment before she smirked. _I wonder what she'll think of the bloody shirt. And how should I explain all of the blood anyways? I could pretend that I don't know. No, amnesia is too unbelievable. I could say that it's someone else's, that would make me seem more intimidating. No, if they ran blood tests it would just make me seem more pathetic._ The sound of Coulson moving closer jolted Ryo out of her musings and she realized that Dr. Wells had repeated her request.

"Sure thing, Doc." Ryo's cheerily exclaimed words did nothing to ease the tension in Coulson's body and the unzipping of Ryo's jacket heralded a shocked gasp from Dr. Wells.

"Agent Coulson, I need you to call the medical bay for more supplies. Ms. Noble, how did you obtain these inju-" the young doctor's words came to a stuttering halt as her cold hands pulled up the hem of Ryo's shirt to reveal uninjured skin- there was plenty of dried blood caked onto the skin, a couple faint scars, a large bruise, but there was no gaping wound or protruding rib. "W-what . . . how? There's so much blood though. . ." Dr. Wells voice trailed off into a shocked silence until Coulson spoke up from his position near the door.

"Dr. Wells, please ignore your previous instructions. Just take a blood sample and leave." The doctor followed his instructions and left quickly, leaving Ryo alone with Coulson.

"Ms. Noble, do you have an explanation for yourself?"

"I would try to explain, but you people already said that you wouldn't believe any flimsy excuses."

"Just this once I might be willing to listen."

The offer was tempting, and Ryo longed to pour her heart out to this person who shouldn't even exist. But, here he was, existing, and if there was one thing Ryo knew about Agent Phil Coulson, it was that he will do what he must to accomplish his goals, and right now he was willing to take advantage of her emotional turmoil if it got him the information he needed.

"Fury already said that he would continue his interrogation tomorrow, you'll just have to wait until then."

A sigh. "Very well. This room has security cameras running 24/7. I'll leave this food here along with a change of clothes," Coulson set the tray and a small white bundle on a low shelf near the door and unlocked it. "Ms. Noble, I suggest that you cooperate for the duration of your stay." With this final statement- or perhaps it was a threat- Coulson exited and shut the heavy cell door, locking Ryo in her solitude.

As soon as the door was shut, Ryo darted to the tray of food, grabbing the small hamburger and collapsing on the floor to eat.

 _This sucks. Nothings gone the way it was supposed to. I wish I could just be home right now. I should be studying or doing homework right now, not having some crazy twilight zone experience. All the work I've done all my life is worthless now: saving every dollar I earned for college and now my bank account doesn't even exist, giving up my hobbies and chances to make friends just to study and now my test scores, grades, and college admissions don't amount to anything. I worked so hard, I did everything I could to drag myself inch-by-inch out of the hellish life I was born into and I was so close to getting what I deserved, and now I've lost it all. All of that pain I endured for nothing. It wasn't the easiest life, or the happiest life, or the best life, but it was MINE._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Agent Phillip J. Coulson had an unexpected day- which says quite a lot considering that he was an experienced agent of SHIELD. In the wee hours of the morning, he witnessed a battle between the genius Anthony Stark and his mentor Obadiah Stane. He delivered a cover story created by some of the most skilled liars at SHIELD to Stark so that the public would not panic about the events and destruction caused by the battle. Stark completely disregarded the script and revealed that he was Iron Man and Coulson silently despaired at the sheer volume of paperwork that he would have to deal with thanks to Stark's confession.

Then _she_ showed up. The abnormality. A strange girl with no records who casually mentioned classified information as if it were ordinary information. This aberration was enough to keep Phil at work, rather than at home asleep.

His tech team had finally given up searching for records of Ryo after hours of failed results. The medical team had similarly useless results- the blood sample was tested and did not match any other samples in their extensive database. Coulson tried to trace back where Ryo came from before finding her at Times Square, but all it showed was her wandering through New York after having slept at Central Park. There was actually a store's surveillance camera pointing almost directly at the bench where Ryo had woken up, but in the middle of the night it malfunctioned for about an hour and when it started working again it showed Ryo fast asleep on the bench. Ryo didn't show up on any cameras prior to appearing on the bench, so Coulson had just reached another dead end.

Coulson sighed and turned his attention back to the screen in front of him which showed the surveillance footage from holding cell 12- Ryo's cell. Since his departure she had done nothing of interest, nothing which would provide him any clues about her. She had eaten the food he left her and washed the blood off herself before changing into the gray shirt and shorts which all detainees were provided with.

When she wasn't masterminding the release of classified information or threatening himself or Director Fury, Coulson could feel a bit of pity for her. She was skinny- too skinny- as if she hadn't eaten properly for most of her life. Her eyes darted about at every little sound; watchful, cautious, mistrustful. Choppy uneven bangs hid most of her green eyes, but the dark circles and smudged makeup beneath her eyes were not so easily concealed. As Ryo curled up on the edge of the bed to sleep, Coulson found it difficult to justify the extremity of the actions taken against her, it was difficult to think of this fragile girl as a security threat.

With a sigh, Coulson turned away from the screen. There wasn't much that he could do to help Ryo. She's the one that threatened them first and if she didn't cooperate then she would face the consequences of her actions. He had other issues to deal with, other cases to work on. She wasn't his responsibility.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Silence greeted Ryo as she awoke, gasping for breath. Her heart pounded and she struggled to breath, it felt as if she had just run a marathon. The last thin webs of sleep broke and she couldn't remember what it was that frightened her enough for her to awaken. As she lay, trembling from the dream, Ryo strained to recall her nightmare, but all she could remember was that it felt cold. Dangerous. Terrifying.

 _Looks like I'm still in that cell. I guess that means I'm not just hallucinating or something. Too bad. Fury should be coming by sometime today, I don't know how I can convince him to trust me anymore. If I tell him about my knowledge of the past, he'll just freak out about security breaches, but if I tell him more about the future he'll either say he can't trust that my words are true or act like anything I talk about is something that I somehow cause in an effort to make him trust me. And if I do somehow get him to trust me, then I'll have to be careful about not changing too many things too soon, otherwise things will get messed up and the future will change too much for my knowledge to be accurate._

Huffing at her predicament, Ryo rolled off the cold hard bed in the corner of her cell and began working out as best as she could: doing push-ups and sit-ups. It was like this that Nick Fury found her.

His entrance had gone unnoticed- an impressive feat considering how noisy the door was- and he stood observing her for a moment, before calling out, "Do you intend to do that all day, or are you going to get up and start telling the truth?"

His presence surprised Ryo, but she quickly assessed the situation and shot back, "I never stopped telling the truth."

"My very first question was about your name, and you gave a fake name."

"Technically the first question was when Phil asked me if I was ready to share my information when I first got to the interrogation room, but I guess I'll forgive you for your mistake since you weren't there at the time."

Fury's jaw clenched. "Why were you sent here?"

"You're repeating the same questions from before, Nick. No one sent me here. I'm here because I have knowledge that will be helpful in the future, all I want are a few basic resources in exchange for my assistance."

"So you think that a Norse god is going to show up next year, and then I'll believe everything you have to say."

"Something along those lines. You'll see. I'd bet my entire fortune on Thor showing up next year."

Fury snorted. "You don't have any money."

"On the contrary, I'm not broke. Yesterday some loser thought I was homeless and gave me twenty dollars when I asked to borrow a pen."

"As far as I know, you are homeless, unless you're calling this cell your home now."

Inwardly, Ryo smiled. At least Fury wasn't being so scary right now. "He was still a loser."

"You're hardly one to talk. I considered your demands from yesterday and decided that I would be willing to accept them. You wanted housing, food, and a college education, correct?" Receiving a nod from Ryo, Fury pulled a tattered old book from one of the pockets in his trenchcoat and tossed it onto the floor next to Ryo. "There's the start of your college education, the housing has obviously been provided already, and meals will be delivered three times a day."

 _What? I don't- he just- did he? He did._ While Ryo recovered from her shock, Fury began to exit and by the time that she was on her feet Fury was walking down the hall away from her. Ryo shouted curses at his retreating back as he sauntered away with a triumphant smile. A tattered old college mathematics textbook lay mockingly on the floor of the dreary little cell.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Agent Maria Hill joined her boss in his office as he observed their new prisoner on the security cameras. "Director Fury, Sir, what do you intend to do about Ms. Noble?"

Fury didn't answer immediately, considering his answer. "Her requests seem mostly harmless, but her demeanor and knowledge worry me."

Agent Hill nodded in agreement. "I noticed that she seemed uninterested in Dr. Wells," at Fury's silence, she continued, "when Ms. Noble met Agent Coulson and then you, she greeted you by name and flaunted her knowledge, but when she was faced with Dr. Wells she was almost impassive."

"Noble knows more than she lets on, I need to send someone else to go talk with her," Fury turned to fully face his subordinate, "It's time to call her in."

"Who?"

"The widow."

 **~{TBC}~**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers, or anything else that looks familiar.

A/N Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear your ideas. Updates should be coming more often now that most of my classes are finished for the season.

TheMamaBear: Her knowledge of the avengers goes a bit past civil war because she actually comes from early 2017. She is familiar with the general plot of the movies and knows some facts from the comics, but the more recent movies such as Black Panther and Infinity War are unknown to her, she knows about as much as we do. It's great to hear that you like it getting more serious because it will definitely continue to be serious.

Pastel-Potatoes: Your reviews inspire me to forge onwards! Yes, Natasha is in this chapter.

Nightshade: I love long reviews! I'm glad you like the story and OC. I'm trying to post a new chapter at least every two weeks, if I am late then I will post a longer chapter to make up for it. Thanks for the feedback!

lizziecats: Wow! That's the longest review yet! I'm glad you like the characters and story. You made some great points about Ryo's potential to be friends with the whole team, I guess we'll see soon if she can live up to that potential or if she falls short. Your point about Ryo being able to flat out say that she is from another universe is interesting, she probably would be the type to do that. I appreciate all of the feedback and encouragement, thanks!

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _"It's time to call her in."_

 _"Who?"_

 _"The widow."_

~{I'm just a line break}~

The thing about silence that most people neglect to realize is that it can be louder than almost any other sound. The quiet- the lack of auditory stimulation- becomes increasingly violent until one is left clinging to any sort of entertainment, if only to suppress the agony of solitude. Ryo was one such person and-having finished the math book she was given as well as the philosophy textbook that followed- was now folding the papers from the books into origami. She was normally the sort of person who would be horrified at the destruction of any book, but after Fury had decided to leave her locked up she needed a distraction and she got a vindictive pleasure from destroying SHIELD property.

A muffled screech from outside of her cell made Ryo pause in her creation of a butterfly. _Someone just came into this hallway. Is it food? Or will it be another crazy?_ Ryo shuddered, remembering the shouting she heard earlier of a man screaming his innocence- she had almost felt bad for him until he had gone on to claim that he shouldn't be locked up because he only meant to maim not kill SHIELD agents.

Ryo crept to the door and crouched with her ear by the handle, straining to catch any more sounds. Faint footfalls echoed down the hallway, louder and louder with each step. _Maybe it is food. It sure took them long enough, I'm starving._

The footsteps were closer now and Ryo's mouth watered in anticipation. _They're almost here. Any moment now they'll be delivering food._ Normally it would seem strange for any person to long for food as much as Ryo was, but her few days in holding cell 12 had taught her two things: first, SHIELD has nice food not nice people and second, meal time means actual human interaction-if only for a moment- as well as a chance to request a new book or two.

Ryo expected to hear the footsteps slowly stop in front of her door and a loud jangling of keys for an inordinate amount of time before receiving a warning to move away from the door so that some low-level agent could drop off her meal.

She did not expect that the footsteps would scarcely slow before a quick buzzing sound would herald the unanticipatedly quick opening of the door- the handle slamming into Ryo's temple and sending her sprawling onto the floor.

Groaning with pain and swearing more than she should, Ryo forced out a confused "bloody hell!" and "what's your problem" at the figure in the doorway. Receiving no response, she sighed and instructed "you can leave the food on the shelf, and I'd like another book."

"What did those poor books ever do to you?" the voice was honeyed and inviting and in no way could it be one of Ryo's normal attendants. Clutching her head, Ryo opened her eyes and observed the figure before her. _Red hair, green eyes, a casual stance that still somehow screams assertiveness and superiority. She was able to enter my cell quickly, likely with a better key because of her higher rank. She looks close enough to how Natasha Romanoff looked in the movies. I calculate a 95% chance that this is Natasha- although that may not be the name she is using right now. Natasha, Natalie, Natalia, who are you right now?_

"Hello, Nat. I wasn't expecting to see you for at least a year. Why are you so early?" The sing-song words sounded light and airy, a stark contrast from the dark implications that set off alarm bells in the Black Widow's head. One thing was for sure, Fury owed her a lot more than a favor for this.

~{I'm just a line break}~

"What the hell was that?" The furious words burst from Natasha Romanoff's mouth the moment she set foot into Director Fury's office.

"I don't know why you're so angry, Natasha, what did I do to deserve such rage?" Amusement tinged Fury's voice as he quickly turned off the monitor showing the live recording from Ryo's cell.

"You know exactly what I mean, don't play innocent. You said that you wanted me to go visit a suspect and find out what they know, and instead you sent me to some kid who greeted me on sight and proceeded to carry out a conversation with me as if she knew me, as if we were best friends. She leaked all sorts of classified information about SHIELD and every time I tried to find out more about her she side-stepped the question and turned the question back to me. Who is she and why did you send me in unprepared?" With her final statement, Natasha slammed her hands onto Fury's desk, glaring at his uncovered eye.

With a sigh, Fury leaned back in his chair. "I sent you to talk to her without a briefing because I wanted to see how things might play out. She says her name is Ryo, she showed up last week- the same day that Stark outed himself as Ironman- and caught SHIELD's attention. I was hoping that since you don't have a mission right now, you could keep an eye on her, gain her trust, see if you can learn anything interesting. You don't need to do this permanently, just for a little while."

"Fine, I'm going to need her file and any information we have on her," Romanoff turned to leave, having little else to say. Fury may have acted like it was a request, but if she had refused then he would have ordered her to do it anyways.

"Agent Hill can provide you with all of that. Thanks, Natasha, I owe you one."

As Natasha stalked out of the room she muttered, "It's a lot more than just one," before exiting, leaving Fury to chuckle at her comment before returning to his paperwork.

Nick Fury could confidently say that all of his plans were once more set up to run smoothly. Unfortunately for him, Ryo was forming a new plan also, and she was just as confident that her plans would now run smoothly. At best, one of their plans would be right, but at worst, their plans would both crumble into ashes.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Natasha Romanoff studied the file of information that had been compiled on Ryo with a fervor that she rarely displayed. Reading the bare facts she had been provided with, watching the surveillance videos- closely examining every detail about Ryo and fast-forwarding through the mundane activities of eating and sleeping- seeing what was there and what was not.

Reading between the lines, she surmised quite a bit about Ryo Inari Noble. Ryo likely did not have a family, otherwise she would surely have protested more against being detained. When Natasha attempted to question Ryo about it, the brat let out a hollow laugh and said that probably didn't have a family anymore. Additionally, there was a high chance that Ryo either experienced a traumatic event- which may have triggered her decision to go to SHIELD- or was guilty of some crime in her past. This theory was formed after Natasha stopped to observe Ryo's sleeping pattern more closely. Every night since she had been detained, Ryo had slept poorly, clearly having nightmares. When Natasha gently asked why Ryo was having nightmares, she received a scathing comment about where she could shove her questions, before an apology and an unlikely explanation that Ryo didn't remember the dreams.

A couple more visits over the course of a week and Natasha Romanoff could now say that she understood what parents meant when they would simply say "teenagers" with a sigh.

Now, a week after their first meeting, Natasha was ready to visit Ryo again and was prepared. Approaching holding cell 12 and the prisoner beyond it, she balanced a plate of food- the hellion was easily bribed with extra food- on top of a worn cardboard box that she had requested from some of the nerds in the research and development department. A quick scan of her ID card and Natasha entered the cell, searching the room for the now familiar form of Ryo.

Ryo was sitting upside down on the folding chair that Natasha had brought after her third visit. Her back was on the seat cushion and her legs stretched over the back of the chair as she clutched a new book in her hands- Biochemistry this time.

"So you've finally come to save me from insanity," green eyes darted away from the page for a moment and rested on the box in Natasha's arms, "What's in the box?"

Romanoff shut the door and ignored Ryo's question, focusing instead on Ryo's earlier words. "What do you mean by saving you from insanity?"

Ryo sighed and responded as if she were talking to a child. "It's simple, really. All current statistics on solitary confinement indicate that it is one of the most effective ways to drive a person all sorts of crazy. Now what's in the box?"

Natasha set the box on the floor. "You can look for yourself. And get out of my chair, hellion." The nickname wasn't supposed to stick, but with all of Ryo's antics it was difficult to resist such childish nicknames.

Ryo's curiosity outweighed her determination to keep the chair and she flopped over and rolled off the chair before sitting up and eagerly grabbing the box. Carefully pulling up the edges of the box, Ryo opened the box and pulled out a couple of items: a chess set, stack of papers, rubix cube, and a couple of those strange metal sliding puzzles that are advertised as requiring a high intelligence to solve.

"You kept saying that you're bored, so I brought some stuff that might catch your interest," Natasha explained from her seat in the chair, "are you up for a game of chess?"

Of course, this was not simply a social call for Agent Natasha Romanoff. It was a test and no matter the results, they would be useful to her. She could now get a more accurate measure of her assignment's intelligence, with the combined results of the chess game, logic puzzles, and stack of papers which were actually the questions for an official IQ test. Natasha Romanoff was definitely not growing fond of Ryo, she was just doing her job.

The funny thing was that no matter how many times the master assassin told herself that, she could never quite convince herself that it was the truth.

~{I'm just a line break}~

A firm knocking at his office door heralded the arrival of Agent Romanoff at his office and Nick Fury sighed with relief that someone had finally bothered to knock rather than barge in uninvited.

"Agent Romanoff, are you here to give me your report?" The question was merely a formality, as Fury had called the Black Widow to his office specifically to deliver her report.

"Yes, Sir. I brought the report with me, as well as my notes and observations from interacting with Ms. Nobble." Natasha set the stack of papers onto Fury's desk and cleared a corner of the large desk to sit on as she spoke to Fury. "Specifically, I would like to emphasize my findings from the last time I worked with her. In the future, if she proves herself capable of trusting, we may want to hire her. I gave her an IQ test and generally observed her logic and reasoning skills and she has proven herself to be surprisingly intelligent, the actual results from the IQ test was 182, that's easily within the top ten in the world, she's a veritable genius."

Fury frowned. "That could be bad news. If she's that smart, then she could easily be lying about more than we realized. Her very actions may be designed to trick or manipulate us."

"I don't think that is her intention-"

"But you don't know for certain," Fury sighed before pulling a folder from one of the stacks on his desk, "I already told you that this assignment wouldn't be permanent. There's a situation in Budapest, I'm sending you and Agent Barton there tonight."

Agent Natasha Romanoff was not such a bad subordinate that she would argue with her boss just because he reassigned her. Agent Natasha Romanoff was not such a good subordinate that she could walk out of the office without a bit of doubt creeping into her heart. In the end, Natasha was just a regular SHIELD agent who dismissed a possible problem by reassuring herself that the situation was out of her hands. If Ryo got into trouble, it wouldn't be Natasha's problem. Ryo was no longer her responsibility.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Ryo gasped as she jolted awake and out of her bed. What with all of her restless nights, she had tried to take a nap, but it seemed that her actions did nothing to stop her nightmares. Her words to Nat hadn't exactly been a lie- she couldn't remember some of her nightmares. It just depended on the night.

Three main nightmares haunted Ryo's dreams now. The first was one that she had been having for months before she ever ended up in the Marvel Universe and it was beginning to feel like a peaceful regular dream compared to the others. In it, an old regret was brought up again- as if, she could ever forget it even if she didn't dream about every couple of nights. The other two had only appeared since she showed up here. The second was scenes from the movies that she had casually watched with her little brother previously, but now they were terrifying, now Thanos was a real threat and would likely kill her if she survived Loki and Ultron and a half dozen other threats before that. The third was the worst though. At first, she had woken up unable to remember those dreams, but as she slowly remembered more with each repeated dream, she despised it. She still only knew patches of it: an agonizing feeling as if every cell in her body was on fire, a terrifying unknown darkness, and silence, loneliness. The only word that could adequately describe it is "hell" and Ryo had a sinking feeling in her chest that she knew why.

A buzzing sound rang from outside the door, and Ryo turned her head to see Nat entering the room.

"Nat, what a surprise! If I had known you would visit, I would have tidied up a bit," the words were more sarcastic than necessary, but Ryo was feeling a bit sleep deprived and was not in the mood to waste any effort being nice.

Natasha sighed and tossed a piece of paper onto the bed next to Ryo's face before sitting in the little folding chair. "I ran a few tests without your permission, these are the results."

Ryo's eyes widened a bit in excitement and she snatched the paper off the bed and studied the paper. "Huh, an IQ test. I've never taken one of those before. The score is a bit disappointing though, the highest recorded score is 228, it's too bad that I couldn't beat that."

"Well if that's the case, then you might as well not even call yourself a genius anymore," Natasha muttered sarcastically from her seat, "why can't you just be happy with your score?"

The question made Ryo pause, pondering the question, and Natasha was beginning to think that she wouldn't get a response, when the silence was finally broken.

"The majority of my recent successes have stemmed from my unwillingness to procrastinate. When I was a child, I knew that I was smarter than the average adult, but I was too lazy to do anything about it. When I got older, I realized that many of the worst things in my life could have been prevented, if it weren't for my lack of competence. From then on, I refused to waste time or procrastinate, I spent every waking moment studying or planning for my future. I learned a lot . . ."

"And then?" Natasha prompted.

"My hard work finally earned me a chance to have a better life," _I was going to go to college- to Harvard of all places- and take my brother with me, I was going to give him the chance to have a happy childhood, a happy life._ "And then all of my work went to waste, and now I'm still just studying because that's what I'm used to. I should have done better on the test."

In all her time observing Ryo, Natasha was beginning to feel like this conversation was amounting to more than any other. "I think you're too hard on yourself, but I don't have much time left to convince you of that. I'm leaving tonight for a mission."

A bit of interest sparked in Ryo's eyes. "Where are you going to?"

"Haven't you ever been told that curiosity killed the cat?"

"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back," Ryo tilted her head, considering the implications of the widow's words, "Were you threatening to kill me?"

Natasha raised her eyebrow and a smirk worked its way across her face, "And if I was?"

"You wouldn't actually kill me. You aren't as dark as you want people to believe."

The response shocked Natasha. On one hand, the words were absolutely false, but on the other, there was some truth in the statement. "Maybe not," she stood up, finally feeling that something good had come from the conversation for both of them, "I probably won't see you for a while." Natasha crossed the door and unlocked it, before stopping and looking back at Ryo. "Aren't you going to wish me luck?"

"No. I'll be seeing you again, and you don't need luck."

It wasn't the response that Agent Natasha Romanoff had expected, but as she left the cell, she felt a calm reassurance about her upcoming mission. She had never been the type to gamble, but she would bet a large sum on Ryo being right. They would see each other again.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Ryo didn't have a lot of time to get readjusted to the solitude of her cell before she heard loud footsteps in the hallway. By this point in time, Ryo could recognize the sound of her food providers' feet as well as the softer sound of Nat's footsteps, these footsteps were new. The sound grew closer, until the steps stopped outside of her cell door and unlocked it, revealing Nick Fury in his trademark trench-coat and eyepatch.

"Ms. Noble, it's good to see you again," the Director finally broke the silence and contrary to his words, his tone implied that it was not at all nice to be seeing Ryo again.

"Such obvious lies don't suit you, Nick, you've already seen me at least a couple times on the surveillance cameras. What do you want?"

"I came here to see if you had changed your mind about talking to us."

"I already did talk to you, and you didn't believe me, so I guess we can just wait until next year for me to be proven trustworthy."

"I figured that you would say that. Tonight, you are going to be moved to another location. This cell was never meant to be permanent and we have a location where you might also be able to put your mind to good use."

Fury's words made sense, but Ryo wanted to get out a couple last insults, "child trafficking and child labor are generally considered immoral, you know. Then again, there might be different standards for the cyclops race, I don't know too much about their culture."

Fury's eye twitched slightly, before he schooled his features and chucked a book at her, "A parting gift. How's that for college."

He turned to leave and Ryo continued the conversation, "It's not funny anymore."

Fury looked back from the door and said, "It's always funny," before shutting the door and walking away, booming laughter echoing down the hallway.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Ryo knew that she would be transported and prepared for it the best she could. She changed into the clothes that she had worn when she arrived at SHIELD, the clothes were freshly washed and blood-free. Placing the $20 bill into her jacket, Ryo had little packing left to do. She had arrived with barely anything and had not received anything noteworthy during her stay. Another cheap plastic toothbrush would be provided at her new cell and her books had already been removed one-by-one as she finished reading them.

The group of SHIELD agents that would transport her knocked on her cell door and warned her to stand back, before quickly entering and capturing her wrists in a pair of heavy metal handcuffs. Ryo resisted the urge to groan as the archaic weights were fastened onto her wrists.

A blindfold was fastened over her eyes and she was guided back through winding hallways, until at last she was certain that she was once more in the large garage that she had arrived in. Ryo was shoved into a vehicle of some sort- likely a van- and a seatbelt was fastened across her as the van lurched into movement.

Time passed and Ryo leaned tiredly on the shoulder of the agent to her right. They were likely a little uncomfortable by her snuggling, but Ryo hardly cared- she was tired and they were warm and squishy, it was their fault for being such a great pillow.

Ryo was almost asleep when the brakes screeched and the van jolted to a halt. Dazed, Ryo raised her head and strained her ears, attempting to figure out what was going on around her. The blindfold still blocked her sight, but the agents had neglected to place headphones on her and Ryo could hear the agents in the front seat getting out, discussing something. Two muffled bangs later, followed by a loud thudding against one of the doors, and the agents on either side of Ryo were startled into action, opening their doors to investigate the noises.

A loud spraying noise sounded and soon Ryo began to cough, struggling to remain conscious. Some sort of tranquilizer had been sprayed in the van and in Ryo's last conscious moments she heard the declaration remarkably well.

"Hail Hydra."

Ryo finally succumbed to the darkness, and by the time that SHIELD headquarters learned that the van was intercepted, she was long gone. Spirited away in the night.

 **~{TBC}~**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers, or anything else that looks familiar.

 **A/N I went back to chapter 6 and lowered Ryo's IQ from 203 to 182** , the MCU has a lot of people with extreme IQs (Tony Stark's IQ is estimated to be over 267), so I felt pressured to give her a high IQ to be near the same level as some of the other heroes. Ryo is extremely intelligent, but an IQ score over 200 is just plain unrealistic. She has a lot of natural intelligence, but she does have flaws (especially when interacting with people), so I apologize for giving her such an unbelievable trait.

Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear your ideas. I will try to update more often.

Also, from now on I will not give full responses to all reviews, I will still answer questions and I absolutely love reading about your reactions and ideas, but I don't want to keep bumping up the word count with responses to reviews.

Pastel-Potatos: I'm glad you like Nat's personality, I was a bit worried about how she may come across. Chapters will be gradually longer. Thanks for all the support!

ItsJustMe-94: Glad you like the ending! More sassiness to come!

IforgotMYpasswor: Oh no! I'm glad that the last chapter didn't cause your laptop to get broken, but you might not want to thank me just yet because I sense another cliffhanger coming up.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _"There's a situation in Budapest, I'm sending you and Agent Barton there tonight."_

 _"I already did talk to you, and you didn't believe me, so I guess we can just wait until next year for me to be proven trustworthy."_

 _"You are going to be moved to another location."_

 _"Hail Hydra."_

 _Ryo finally succumbed to the darkness, and by the time that SHIELD headquarters learned that the van was intercepted, she was long gone. Spirited away in the night._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Consciousness did not return to Ryo quickly or pleasantly, but rather slowly as scattered pieces returned to the broken jigsaw puzzle of her mind. At first there was no recognition of the holes in her being until the sense of touch crept back to her and a chilly metal surface bit harshly on her skin as rough straps chewed viciously at her wrists and ankles.

 _That's strange. SHIELD must be going downhill if they can't even get decent restraints._ Murky darkness overtook her once more and the chill faded to the back of her mind. What could have been an eternity later, Ryo noticed a low buzzing in her ears. Groaning, she strained to cover her ears from the grating sound and rediscovered the restraints on her wrists. _AARGGH. It's so annoying. Why can't I move my hands?_ Her disoriented thoughts were interrupted by a clarity to the low buzzing as it shifted into words.

". . . think she's . . . -ake up soon?" A gruff voice breaking in and out as Ryo tried to focus.

"Maybe we used too much tranquilizer gas." The companion's voice came clearer.

"I'll go ask Wilson to check on the girl. You can go get some food, good job on the mission."

"Thank you, sir." The voices faded and the sound of footsteps faded away.

 _Now I remember. Something stopped the van. Hydra. I have to get out of here._ The holes in her memory shrank as alertness grew in her mind.

Ryo's eyes snapped open and began observing her surroundings. _Alright, that Wilson person may already be on their way, I have to hurry._ Wary eyes scanned the room. _Blank walls, sterile scent, some sort of medical office?_ She pulled her wrists, trying to break the rough old straps. _It's no use, I need to cut it. But how?_ Her eyes came to rest on a tray near the table she was on. Medical equipment and glass beakers glinted invitingly on it.

 _Yes, that's it._ Ryo Inari Noble had a plan.

Hydra should really have known better than to underestimate her.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Deputy Director Maria Hill earned her high position at SHIELD because she was a loyal and pragmatic agent and skilled at adapting to new situations. So, it is of no surprise to learn that she showed no signs of anxiety in the current situation.

Yes, a prisoner transport van _was_ intercepted the previous night, but there were already protocols for situations like this and all things considered it had not been a great loss for SHIELD.

The agents from the van were in the medical center still with injuries ranging from difficulty breathing from inhaling too much gas to nonlethal bullet wounds. Being the pragmatic person that she was, Agent Hill had already sent the bullets to the lab to be examined for any clues about their origin and a field team was in the process of collecting samples from the van and surrounding area of the ambush. If the perpetrators left any evidence, she was determined to trace it.

Now the only question that was still bothering her about the case was regarding the prisoner- Ryo Noble. Agent Romanoff insisted that the prisoner was not a threat and could be a useful ally, but Maria had a gut feeling that that was wrong. Romanoff was always a bit softer on children, but Hill could've sworn that she saw a cold glint in the prisoner's wary eyes. Surely it was a possibility that Noble planned the interception of her transport van, perhaps this was the work of the group that Coulson had theorized Noble was a part of- a group that would have trained and given information on SHIELD to Noble so that she could infiltrate and retrieve more information from SHIELD.

Agent Romanoff and Coulson had come to view the hellion as a harmless yet knowledgeable resource, but Agent Maria Hill simply could not reconcile their perception with her own. Any individual with a bit of intelligence can tell pretty lies, but the darkness in one's eyes are not so easily concealed.

For all of her pragmatism and intelligence, Maria was forgetting one crucial aspect of leadership that she had learned long ago- compromise. In a way, they were all correct- Romanoff with her belief of Ryo's innocence, Coulson with his belief in Ryo's good intentions, Hill with her suspicions of lies and danger.

~{I'm just a line break}~

The place was a veritable maze. Every hallway looked the same and Ryo feared that she was walking in circles.

Having just escaped from the office where she had woken up, Ryo was slowly making her way through the place. It was slow work- behind every corner or closed door a hydra agent may lurk and she had to be careful to be sure that there was no trail of blood left behind her.

Ryo freed herself from the restraints she had awoken in by first struggling to slide off her shoes so that she could free her feet from the restraints at her ankles. The lack of shoes made the restraints just barely loose enough to slip her feet free with minimal chafing. From there she managed to pull a tray of medical equipment closer using her feet. It was difficult work and Ryo made a mental note to not mock yoga in the future.

Just barely being able to grab an object from the now close tray, Ryo smashed a glass beaker against the side of the table and used one of the larger pieces of broken glass to begin cutting away the restraints at her wrists. Her own hands were cut almost as much as the restraints were, but she managed to finally free herself and here she was rushing through a maze of corridors looking for a way out. Her bloody hands could be tended to later, she had no time for distractions.

Turning another corner, Ryo skidded to a halt. A group of people were walking down the hall away from her. Three men and two women, all were noticeably muscular and two of them had guns at their sides. Ryo froze at the sight. _Is this it? Guns, they'll get me for sure. Are they patrolling? If I go back from the hallway I came, I'm more likely to be caught, but I can't stay here._ Her mind went on overdrive and panicked thoughts held her in place.

And then the alarm went off. Three wailing rings echoing down the halls before giving way to the crisp voice over loudspeakers. "Attention, all agents, this is a lockdown. Follow protocol 482A. I repeat, all agents proceed to your stations and follow protocol 482A."

Cursing under her breath, Ryo quickly dashed back behind the corner, out of view from the group down the hall. Where there had previously been a friendly casual air amongst the group, there was now a solemn stiffness. Three of them ran further down the hallway, tossing desperate looks back at their companions before splitting off in different directions, the remaining two- the smallest of the three men and a woman with one of the guns- turned and began striding back down the hall towards Ryo's temporary hiding place. Ryo flattened herself against the wall and struggled to calm her breathing. _I won't make it to the end of the hall and out of sight before they turn around the corner. Well this is just great; I can get shot and killed or turn myself in like a coward. Come on, you useless twit, THINK._

The footsteps grew ever closer and Ryo pressed further against the wall. _I should be dead. I should have died when that truck hit me and ribs cracked and pierced my lungs. I already know what it's like to slowly choke as my lungs fill with blood._

Red lights flicked overhead, flashing brightly and casting long shadows in the hall. With a shuddering breath Ryo clenched her shaking bloodied fists and squared her shoulders.

 _I'll do what it takes to survive. It doesn't matter what happens to the bloody Hydra agents, I'm the only thing that I can be certain is real. I'll do whatever it takes to not lose the only thing I have left in this hellish reality. And if I fail to protect my life, then I'll make sure to drag down some of these guys with me._

~{I'm just a line break}~

There come times in every person's life that their resolve is tested and this was one such time that Ryo's resolve was put to the test.

No matter how much history is studied, it seems doomed to repeat itself and Ryo already had a habit that was rather hard to break.

Lying. Deceiving. Denying.

There had been many times in her life that she swore she would change- swore that she would never allow insults to hurt her, swore that she would be strong, swore that she would be better.

Swore that she would protect her brother Luke and never leave him alone, helpless.

Swore that she would live a good life that she hardly deserved for the sake of a little dead boy named Cas.

Swore that she would not fail again.

But she did fail. Every time.

It's hard to accomplish anything when the only resources one has at their disposal are cunning and knowledge.

Knowledge doesn't fill an empty stomach.

Facts do nothing to block abuse and assault.

In the end, sometimes cunning can only entrance a victim with sweet dreams of unbroken promises.

~{I'm just a line break}~

When the agents had almost reached Ryo's hiding spot, the small male continued straight down the hall while the armed female turned around the corner to where Ryo was waiting.

There was barely any time for surprise to flick across the agent's face before there was a foot carefully maneuvered to smash into the back of her knee and the agent fell. A bony fist struck her neck and the agent suddenly found it very difficult to breath, she barely registered that a small figure was reaching for her gun.

The male realized that something was wrong when he heard the grunt of pain, and he looked back to see his associate falling to the ground. Behind her was a disheveled figure. Uneven hair covered most of the face, but as the being drew back a bloodied arm, the hair shifted to reveal murderous eyes.

[ _Ryo always got so involved in her charades. In the beginning the mask always appears flawless._ ]

The pistol was drawn from the female's thigh holster and Ryo aimed it at the male.

He froze, horrified gaze taking in the sight of his injured comrade and the muzzle of the gun.

[ _He didn't notice the slight shaking of Ryo's hand._ ]

"Where's the exit?" The voice was too young, too high, but the female agent hardly noticed as her eyes watered and she struggled to breath. The question was met with silence and the voice continued with a bit more trepidation, "I asked where the exit is, you bloody moron. Answer me!"

The man's arms were raised in the air- a position of surrender- but he stood firm. "I refuse to answer that. Stand down or things will only be worse for you."

Ryo looked from the stubborn man confronting her to the gasping woman at her feet. "Your partner's airway is swelling up as we speak. If you want her to live, then you _will_ tell me how to get out of here and you might be left with enough time to save her from suffocating as her airways collapse. Your choice."

[ _Awfully merciful for someone who had just decided that no one else's lives mattered_ ]

"If I help you escape then I'll be killed; If I refuse to help you, I might survive."

"And why do you think that?"

"Anything above a code D is considered more important than an agent of my rank, I can only capture you, if I were to use lethal force or help you escape then I would be disposed of. But you haven't shot me yet, so I have to count on there being a chance that you won't kill me.

The words made Ryo angry, his doubt of her resolve made her want to shoot him out of spite.

[ _Once upon a time, a little girl wondered why she was treated like her life was less than others'. The world asked why she thought her life was worth anything at all._ ]

"You think I won't shoot you? I suppose it's been long enough that my commitment to your death is uncertain," a flash of relief on the male's face, "but my commitment to survival is a bit more certain."

A bang echoed through the hallways, barely audible over the alarm. Red blood washed over sterile white floors.

A scrawny figure darted down another hallway, searching for escape.

The very much alive male agent smiled slightly from the ground before pulling himself up and examining the wound on his leg. It hurt very much, but he knew the basics of staunching the blood flow from bullet wounds. With a grimace, he dragged himself to his partner and got to work on relieving the pressure on her airways. They would both survive to get medical aid.

Ryo didn't bother to berate herself for failing to kill the agent, she just kept running.

[ _No point in killing the defenseless_.]

At least now she had information on Hydra's protocols. Information she could work with. For someone who was normally only armed with cunning and knowledge, information was always a welcome ally. The gun didn't really feel like it was her style anyways.

[ _Sometimes vows are impossible to fulfill_.]

Ryo recalled an old phrase from what seemed like a lifetime ago, "Never trust a survivor until you find out what they did to stay alive."

Maybe there were more important thing than survival. Maybe there weren't.

[ _Vows are such restraining oaths, unsuitable for the fickle reality of life._ ]

Maybe it would be easier to take things one step at a time. Ryo still had some old promises to work on.

She was supposed to turn her life around and fight tooth and claw for a good life because a little dead boy named Cas didn't have a life to turn around.

It wasn't just this world that was rotting, it was every world.

If Ryo could do something to help prevent that rot- just a little bit- then who was she to stand by and do nothing.

Maybe she wasn't a billionaire with a suit of armor or a super-soldier with a sense of morals and justice.

Maybe she wasn't a deadly assassin or a Norse god.

But she was armed with a sharp tongue and intelligent mind, and she could train hard and help just as much as any other hero.

[ _One mask cracks and another replaces it- or perhaps there were layers of masks all along. Is every persona a lie or does the strongest mask become the truth_.]

Sooner or later she would definitely get away from Hydra.

[ _Once upon a time, a little girl put on a mask to hide herself from a harsh world. The world beat viciously at the mask, but by the time that it had worn away the mask the girl was unrecognizable. Blood dripped down her face from where the mask had been stuck to the skin and pried off. Had the world been less cruel, it would have mourned for what was lost from the girl's face. Wear a mask long enough and your mind and soul will be torn apart and reassembled into something new_.]

 **~{TBC}~**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers, or anything else that looks familiar.

A/N Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear your ideas. I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. Also, I was on the Marvel wiki and one of the dates for a previous chapter seems to have changed. Apparently the press conference mentioned in chapter 1 took place in November of 2009, not October of 2010. Sorry for the error.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _A scrawny figure darted down another hallway, searching for escape._

 _At least now she had information on Hydra's protocols. Information she could work with._

 _It wasn't just this world that was rotting, it was every world._

 _Sooner or later she would definitely get away from Hydra._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Ryo's inevitable recapture was not as dramatic as she had imagined it would be. There was no grandiose speech from the adversary followed by a dramatic fight in which Ryo almost won, until the dastardly Hydra agent revealed some underhanded trick that happened to be her greatest weakness.

There wasn't even a cheesy flamboyant codename for the agent that took her down.

There was just a standard issue tranquilizer dart to the back from a Hydra agent with the modest codename "Carl" which was actually a rather well-reasoned codename due to the fact that it did not give away his abilities- unlike less modest codenames (in this instance, the name Hawkeye comes to mind because codenames like that clearly give away the fact that the agent with said codename has excellent vision, and with such information a target could very easily extrapolate that an adversary with such a skill set would use a long-range weapon.)

Ryo frowned slightly at the turn her thoughts had taken, because clearly this was not the time to internally complain about the stupidity of Clint Barton's codename, nor was it the time to make plans to get revenge on Agent Carl who had cowardly shot her in the back. There were larger problems at the moment, primarily that she was once again restrained and seated at an interrogation table.

Ryo sighed inwardly. _I should be complaining about dumb group projects at school right now, not international organizations kidnapping and interrogating me._ But, alas, her education and life had been put on hold after she was hit by a truck and woke up in what seemed to be the Marvel universe.

The door of the interrogation room opened and a man in a suit walked in. _Tall, brown hair and eyes, strong jaw, mid-40s. Who is this guy?_ Ryo racked her brain, trying to recall the names of Hydra agents that she had heard before. _Too old to be Grant Ward, and Ward should be pretending to be in SHIELD right now anyways. Of course, the same should go for most of the Hydra elite._

"I apologize for the rough treatment you've received. It wasn't my intention."

Ryo resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "That's a funny thing for you to say, seeing as you left the handcuffs on."

"Company policy, I'm afraid," he said with a tight smile, "How did you escape earlier?"

"I actually have some questions of my own," Ryo countered. "First of all, who are you?"

"I asked first, Ms. Noble."

 _So he has information on me from SHIELD. Makes sense, considering that they went out of their way to kidnap me. But, if I know who he is, I'll have a better chance of manipulating him with what I remember from the movies._

"I escaped previously because you didn't disarm me." It wasn't exactly the truth, but saying 'I escaped due to my extraordinary ability to improvise' doesn't exactly have a nice ring to it.

A frown briefly flashed across the agent's face. "I rather doubt that you shot your way out of those restraints."

"I acquired the gun after I sawed the restraints off with broken glass. It should've been fairly obvious already." Ryo smirked, watching in amusement as the man glowered at her condescension. "Who are you?"

"Gregory Brown. I'm in charge of this section of the facility"

Ryo cursed. _I've never heard of this guy before. There's nothing to work with. Maybe I can get someone I've heard of brought in to replace this guy. I just have to act like I've got information that's beyond his level._ "Perhaps I should rephrase my question. What rank are you?"

"What?" For the first time in their conversation, Mr. Gregory Brown seemed unprepared.

 _I have a plan at least. And I will be very happy if this works out. But if it doesn't, I will not be surprised._ "What. Rank. Are. You?" Ryo slowly enunciated each syllable as if she were speaking to an idiot. "I deserve a high ranking Hydra agent to interrogate me, not some random low-level follower. So if you're just a lackey in charge of a little section of a single facility, then go get me someone who is an actual important part of Hydra, so that they can do the job properly and-"

Smack! The infuriated agent's handprint was already visible on Ryo's face before she realized that he was moving to assault her.

 _Okay plan A isn't really working. Flattery might work._ With a nervous laugh and false nonchalance, Ryo conceded, "I probably deserved that."

Smack!

 _Ugh. What's this guys problem?_ "That, good sir, was uncalled for."

Gregory "I-kick-puppies-for-fun" Brown flopped back into his seat across from Ryo. "Listen, girl, I was planning on being nice- it just doesn't seem right to hit a kid- but I need information."

"And I need you to get me a nice slice of pizza while I'm waiting for a legitimate Hydra representative to greet me," Ryo countered, ignoring the racing of her heart.

"Ms. Noble, I promise you, you do not want to meet someone meaner than me in this facility. You caught our attention recently when you were found possessing information so important that the director of SHIELD himself met with you multiple times. Not only has Hydra freed you from SHIELD, but we are willing to release you after you tell us the information you have. I think that you should appreciate our generosity."

Ryo raised an eyebrow at his offer. "That's an interesting opinion, but the difference between your opinion and food is that I only asked for food."

Agent Brown's jaw clenched. "What information did you give to SHIELD."

"I told them to watch out for their director's limbs, because the eyepatch already makes him look enough like a pirate, it would really be overkill if he had a pegleg or a hook for a hand."

Brown stood abruptly, knocking his chair aside and storming to the door. "An official welcome to the facility should loosen your lips. After your little escape attempt and assault of those agents, there are plenty of people who would like to repay you for all of the trouble."

With those final words, Agent Gregory Brown slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Ryo bound to a chair in an empty room. Finally alone, Ryo slumped forward in exhaustion. Her hands clenched as she imagined what was to come and thought about what had already happened. She shivered at the memory of a cold gun held in her bleeding hands, pointed at a Hydra agent. She wished she was home, cursing group projects and drunk mothers.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Cloudy skies and a fierce wind welcomed Natasha Romanoff as she strode out of an airport in Budapest with Clint Barton at her side. The pair were debriefed on their mission that morning and Natasha was eager to complete the task and return to base. After all, how hard could the mission be if only two agents were sent?

Clint glanced at Natasha in concern. He'd been on a mission in Bolivia until recently and hadn't been able to contact her, but now he saw a slight frown on her normally impassive face. But right now he had bigger things to concentrate on. Whatever it was that had Natasha concerned could wait until their mission was over. Maybe he would take some time off after this mission and invite her to stay in the guest room of his and Laura's farmhouse. The fresh air would help her open up and he would get the chance to spend time with his wife and young children.

Nick Fury sighed as he looked over another mission damage report. SHIELD had a large budget, but it would be nice if his subordinates weren't so nonchalant about collateral damage. His idle mind wandered to the mission he had sent not one, but two of his best agents on. He was assured that it would be a straightforward in-and-out mission, but his instincts were screaming at him that something else was at play. As a spy he was accustomed to keeping information from his agents and he needed Romanoff at her peak for the mission, but he would feel better when Romanoff returned and he could inform her of the ambush on the transport van with Ryo Noble in it. Until then all he could do was monitor the mission progress of half a dozen high risk operations and keep signing off damage reports.

~{I'm just a line break}~

The official Hydra welcome went better than Ryo would have guessed. There were no streamers or toasts in her honor, but there wasn't any more pain than she had felt before.

It was a casual event and the agents- if they could even be called that- had no organized plan of attack. The majority of them didn't even harm her, they just hung in a crowd and watched. The bolder ones beat on her a bit, but they seemed more interested in the cheering or jeering from the crowd as they tried and failed to defend themselves from Ryo's scathing remarks.

Worst case scenario, Ryo may have a broken rib, but as far as she could tell it was just heavy bruising and she had deduced quite a bit of information from the experience.

This place wasn't full of the elite Hydra agents: the double agents who tricked even Nick Fury, the politicians who got their jobs because of their dubious allegiances, the people who believed in their goal enough that anyone's life- even their own- would be sacrificed if it would further the cause.

These people hardly even knew what the cause was.

Some were recruited from fighting rings. The last one standing got a job. Dirty fighting was fair. Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to get money for your family.

Some were saved from jail time. What they didn't know at the time was that they hadn't gotten the sort of job that they could walk away from when their debt was filled.

Others were recruited from the gutters of higher education. Thirsty for knowledge and hungry for food.

They were all recruited when they were young and desperate. They didn't need a cause to fight for. They were too busy fighting to save themselves.

And it scared Ryo more than any threat of violence because _this_ could've been her life in a couple years under different circumstances.

She doubted her world had Hydra, but it did have both intelligence and terrorist organizations, and if it came down to it she would do anything to take care of her little brother.

Her little brother who was waiting for her to pick him up after school when she got hit by that awful truck. Her little brother who's last name she took and who was to thank for most of her knowledge of this hellish place she appeared in. Her little brother who she took care of more than their shared mother and absent fathers. Her little brother who she vowed to protect.

Her little brother who was probably all alone now.

The official Hydra welcome was better than Ryo could have hoped for. She'd taken hits before from angry drunks, so hits from annoyed strangers really barely stung.

And she realized something that gave her a bit of hope. The facility was full of people almost as broken and desperate as she was.

And with a lost brother to avenge, she had to fight for this world. Even if it meant tearing apart these twisted reflections of herself.

 **~{TBC}~**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers, or anything else that looks familiar.

A/N Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! If you have any questions or suggestions, I would love to hear your ideas. I am so sorry that it took me so long to update, I kept telling people that I planned to update in a week or so, and then I ended up without a computer for ages.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _And she realized something that gave her a bit of hope. The facility was full of people almost as broken and desperate as she was._

 _And with a lost brother to avenge, she had to fight for this world. Even if it meant tearing apart these twisted reflections of herself._

~{I'm just a line break}~

The days flew by in an endless cycle of being so alone Ryo wished there was company and having company whom she wished would leave her alone.

After her escape, recapture, interrogation, and beating on her first day, she was half dragged half carried to a filthy cell and that was where she had remained. Her cell- no, _the_ cell, because she would rather be homeless than claim ownership of her confines- was one of many cells lining this hallway, but the others were empty except for the rats. Though she hated herself for the very thought, a small part of Ryo wished that there could even be one more person detained alongside her to stave off the loneliness.

She wasn't always alone though.

Agent Brown was her most common visitor. His visits were accompanied by questions and pain. If Ryo refused to respond to him she was immediately punished, but her evasive statements and insulting remarks only delayed the inevitable. They would wheel in a deep basin of water and pin her arms before holding her head in the water until she felt that her lungs would burst, then she would be released gasping for air. Over and over again.

When Agent Brown deemed the sessions finished, he was the one to give Ryo a meal- not much more than a piece of bread or a bowl of unidentifiable slop- and before locking the cell behind him he would frown at her and say, "you're too stubborn for your own good. Don't worry though, Hydra will help you with that."

Ryo's other visitors were no better. There were at least a dozen different men who would pass by and stop to stare, some taunted her while others would just stand quietly staring, leaving her with the distinctly unpleasant feeling that something was crawling on her skin and thankful that there was a solid set of bars keeping them at a distance.

When she wasn't being interrogated or leered at, Ryo observed and schemed and observed some more. Exhausted as she was from the interrogations, sleep was elusive. Bright lights shone in the cell constantly and the days and nights blurred together until there was no apparent distinction.

And despite everything that happened- the interrogations, near drowning, leering, solitude, sleep deprivation, hunger, and more that she couldn't quite put into words- what bothered her the most were the questions that had been running on repeat in the back of her head long before she was captured by Hydra.

Where are you from? How did you get here?

~{I'm just a line break}~

The Black Widow and Hawkeye were in Budapest for a couple of weeks and everything was going smoothly, the mission was almost over. Then comms went down and the mission went south. Forty-two hours later the pair met up with an extraction team. Four hours after that, the bloodied duo gave their mission reports directly to Director Nick Fury from their beds in the medical wing of a SHIELD base. The exact details of the mission would have to be buried in security clearances and redactions.

After the mission report, Romanoff asked Nick if anything else had happened while she was on the mission. Fury frowned internally, wondering what he had done that showed any unease, before answering, "Nothing important. I'll give you the whole briefing after you've recovered a bit, for now just get some sleep."

As he walked down the hall away from the med bay, he shoved down the slight guilt he felt for the lie. Plenty had happened that Romanoff deserved to know, but first and foremost Nick Fury was the director of SHIELD and he couldn't in good conscience have exhausted and injured agents work on a new mission so soon after getting back from one of the worst missions of the decade.

He would tell Romanoff, he promised himself, just not now.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Ryo felt like she was going mad.

Punches she could take, verbal abuse felt like casual conversation, hunger fades in time.

The emptiness was the problem.

There was nothing interesting to distract her anymore, she just felt trapped.

Nothing new to hear except for the faint echoes of footsteps down the hall and her own voice as she muttered to herself. _Since when do I talk to myself._ Nothing to touch except for cold concrete and metal, and a thin blanket. _Are people supposed to feel this cold?_ Nothing new to taste except for bland mixtures that she wasn't sure were food anymore. _My ribs have never shown this much before._ Nothing to smell except for the faint blood and dust. _Is it my blood I smell?_ Nothing new to see except for people who wanted her knowledge and thought the ends would justify the means. _Why do I keep hurting for the sake of people I don't know?_

Nothing new.

The passage of time was marked by interrogations and she slowly went from sitting calmly watching and observing to curling up with her hands over her ears as she planned and despaired and planned some more.

Ryo almost gave in- to Hydra or madness, she couldn't tell which- when a new plan came to mind. It had flaws just as the many others that she had already considered and rejected did, but it had potential and she had come to the point at which she didn't fear the pain that failure would surely bring.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Pepper Potts wasn't used to computer troubles. Working alongside tech genius Tony Stark, she couldn't even remember the last time she had had any troubles with a laptop- especially the StarkTech laptop she used to monitor the ins and outs of an entire company. So as soon as her web browsers closed and wouldn't reopen, she brought the laptop to Stark to find out what was wrong.

She found Tony in his workshop, blaring music and humming as he hunched over a set of blueprints.

"Mr. Stark, could you please take a look at this?" she asked, handing the laptop to him.

"Pepper, I know you said no more going after the Ten Rings on my own, but I had a new modification to the suit to try out and I didn't injure any of them. It really isn't newsworthy, can't I skip the press conference."

"What? You went after them again!"

"Is that not what you were here for?" He asked, silently cursing himself for his slip-up.

"We'll need to have a discussion about that later, Mr. Stark, it reflects poorly on the company. I was actually wondering if you could figure out what's wrong with the laptop."

Tony opened the laptop and began looking through it, trying to figure out what was wrong, as Pepper walked around the workshop, looking at the new inventions and blueprints scattered across the various tables and workbenches.

"Now what's this?" Tony mumbled to himself as a black box filled the screen.

"What's what?" Pepper inquired as she walked back to where he was working.

"I'm not certain yet, but I think you might have just encountered the dumbest hacker I've ever seen."

"Stark Industries is being hacked!" She was shocked- Tony managed the security for the company and although she didn't know much about hacking, she knew that his security was nothing to scoff at.

"Well, the strange thing is that after managing to get through the general firewalls, they made a rookie mistake, that's why you could tell something was wrong. I just can't believe that someone could get through the first barrier and then do something so obvious." He clicked around a bit more before smirking. "Hey, Pepper, I promise I'll get you a new laptop if this breaks yours."

"What are you planning, Tony."

"I just want to talk to this person, and it looks like they want to talk too." He scrolled over to the corner of the dark screen and typed:

 **Hello**

Pepper frowned. "Do you really think that'll work? What if you're playing into their hands?"

Stark didn't have the chance to respond to her because a moment later, more text appeared beneath his message.

 **Pepper, tell Tony Stark to trace this. Contact Agent Phil Coulson. Thanks.**

Pepper gaped at the screen. What was going on?

Tony typed back: **This is Anthony Stark. Who are you?**

A moment passed. Then the reply: **No more time. Please find me.**

The pair stared at the screen, perplexed. Then, the black box disappeared and for once even Tony Stark was silent.

And a long way away from Tony Stark, another computer screen was smashed apart along with the hard drive and other components of the computer.

Ryo tried to calm her breathing as she ducked out of her hiding place and began running some more.

It was a risky plan, yes. But the base was near inescapable and she was weaker by the day.

She could last a little longer, she had to. The fight wasn't done yet and she wasn't going to lose.

 **~{TBC}~**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers, or anything else that looks familiar.

A/N Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! There isn't much from Ryo's viewpoint in this chapter, but next chapter should have a lot from her.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Last chapter:

 _Ryo almost gave in- to Hydra or madness, she couldn't tell which- when a new plan came to mind. It had flaws just as the many others that she had already considered and rejected did, but it had potential and she had come to the point at which she didn't fear the pain that failure would surely bring._

 _Pepper, tell Tony Stark to trace this. Contact Agent Phil Coulson. Thanks._

 _It was a risky plan, yes. But the base was near inescapable and she was weaker by the day._

 _She could last a little longer, she had to. The fight wasn't done yet and she wasn't going to lose._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Tony snapped out of his shocked stupor first and was at his own computer- well, one of his own computers- and working to pinpoint information on the hacker by the time that Pepper snapped out of her own shock.

"That name sounds familiar," Tony muttered to himself as he worked, "but where have I heard it before?"

"Do you mean Phil Coulson? He was the SHIELD representative that was there that night that Obadiah . . ." Pepper trailed off uncomfortably at the memory of being attacked by Tony's former business partner.

"Oh, now I remember. I never would have guessed that the guy would have such a weird middle name, I mean it's bad enough to be named Agent, but to also have a name like Phil," Tony shuddered, "It's no wonder he works for SHIELD, he's probably trying to get into a witness protection program so he can get a new name."

Pepper sighed, was there anything that Stark didn't make a joke out of? "I'll go call Phil, while you work on tracing the hacker."

Tony agreed distractedly as he continued typing away at his computer, occasionally mumbling instructions for Jarvis.

Pepper resisted the urge to groan as she realized that her workday had just gotten a lot longer. She really needed a raise. Or an assistant. Or both.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Very little- and yet also very much- had happened at SHIELD headquarters since the night that the detainee known as Ryo Inari Noble was taken.

Agents came and went. Paperwork was filed as more paperwork piled up. A coffee machine was broken and replaced. An old man retired from the accounting department and a young secretary left on maternity leave. Business as usual for the large SHIELD office.

The weather grew even colder as December turned to January, and with the passing of days came an office Christmas party- as well as smaller Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrations- and end of year bonuses.

Throughout all of this normalcy, Agent Maria Hill was worried.

She was one of the few who sensed the changes, the strange disquiet that enveloped a small number of agents. She heard the whispers in the rumor mill about an entire team that was taken out for the sake of a single unknown prisoner. She sensed the disbelief and fear the story spread until a stern email from the Director himself reminded all employees about confidentiality and the possibility of demotions- or worse- for leaking information.

She saw the lingering frown lines on Phil Coulson's face until finally Director Fury sent Coulson to another base where he would be in charge of Project T.A.H.I.T.I.

She watched as new incidents took priority over the case of the hijacked prisoner, but the tension in the Director's posture remained as each day he was informed that there were no new leads.

Then Romanoff and Barton got back from their mission in Budapest and Agent Hill couldn't help but wonder if there had ever been another time that Romanoff had been so attached to an old assignment that it had been necessary to keep information from her for the sake of her recovery.

Maria was there with Director Fury when Romanoff had healed enough to hear what had been happening when she was gone, and- although she would later deny it- Natasha's cold fury had Maria looking at possible escape routes. If Barton hadn't been present to relieve some of the tension in the room and suggest other possible solutions for the investigation, Maria feared that Romanoff may have gone rogue that day, resorting to Red Room tactics to hunt for leads on the cold case.

And so the days continued in SHIELD headquarters- somewhat tense and somewhat tedious and somewhat discouraged- until a short phone call stirred everything and everyone into action.

"Director Fury, I was just contacted by Tony Stark. It seems that someone is trying to be found. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but I believe this may be a lead on the location of Ms. Noble."

~{I'm just a line break}~

Daryl Thomson squinted at the bright light of the room he awoke in. His head throbbed and he belatedly realized that there was a small amount of drool gathered at the corner of his mouth. He tried to move to wipe off the drool and blinked in confusion when he found that he had raised both of his hands to rub his face. No, that wasn't right, his hands were tied together.

He gasped in shock and the last webs of sleepiness disappeared- unfortunately the headache didn't follow suit and vanish- as he glanced around more carefully and found himself in a cell.

 _What am I doing here?_ He frantically wondered, trying to sort through his muddled memories.

With difficulty he stood- finding his ankles bound the same as his wrists in a rough rope- and made his way toward the cell door, uselessly jiggling the handle as if hoping it was left unlocked. It wasn't.

Daryl pulled against the ropes with all his might, but they wouldn't give. "Don't bother," a hoarse voice rasped. He looked up to discover a thin girl whose wrists were bound in the same rope. Although his view of her was obstructed by two sets of bars and a too bright hallway, he could see bruised eyes and bloody wrists. "I already tried," she said hollowly.

Daryl stared in horror at the girl's injuries: there were streaks of dried blood trailing from beneath the rope on her wrists and a similar broad patch of fresh blood and recent scabbing in a ring around each ankle. Her hands were streaked red and curled in loose fists, occasionally a drip of blood would fall from a fingertip, collecting on the floor next to her.

He realized that she had stopped talking to him- something about a hydra- and was looking at him expectantly. "What was that?" He questioned weakly, having been too busy gawking to listen.

"I was asking how much you remember. Your head was banged up pretty badly and I think you even snoozed through-" her voice suddenly cracked and the girl hesitated before saying, ". . . through earlier." At this her fists clenched a bit more and she winced in pain.

Daryl racked his brain. "I was on shift with Wilson. He got a call from maintenance that they locked their keys in a room. He sent me to deliver the boss's set, so that they could get their keys and then . . . I think I got lost. And now I'm here with you." He shifted uncomfortably at the piercing gaze the girl held on him. "Who exactly are you?"

The girl smirked and then she was laughing, an unhinged laugh that ended in wheezing coughs. She grinned at him and said, "I'm the one that knocked you out."

Daryl jerked away as if she had slapped him, but now the missing pieces were coming back to him. Trying to take a shortcut to maintenance so that he could get back to a card game with Wilson. Walking through a hallway he wasn't technically supposed to be in, passing many empty cells- his workplace was a bit sketchy, but it paid well and it wasn't like there was anyone in the cells he passed- and then he was pulled to the side by the collar of his shirt and his head was slammed into cold metal. And then there was darkness.

"Did you put me in here too," he exclaimed, gesturing wildly around the cell in anger with his bound hands.

The girl laughed again- and wasn't it strange that she was so easily amused- and denied having done any such thing.

"I don't believe you. After all, you did attack me!"

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Believe whatever you want, but I've already paid the price for what I did," at this she raised her fists and slowly uncurled them, Daryl's stomach twisted and he suddenly felt very queasy as he saw great red patches of clotted blood where her fingernails should be.

"W-why?" Daryl stuttered, staring in morbid fascination at the bloody hands. He wasn't certain he wanted the answer, but it was too late to take it back.

"Your Hydra friends were very angry, but I'm as indispensable as I am dangerous, so they recaptured me and brought me back here for a good old fashioned Hydra torture punishment. I don't want to get your hopes up for nothing, but you'll probably be fine," she finished with a crooked smile.

Daryl didn't know what to think. His head still pounded and the lights in the hallway burned his eyes and here was an injured young girl reassuring him that _he_ would be fine. And here was a tiny teenager saying she was dangerous- which sounded absurd, and yet the throbbing in his head suggested that she was a little bit stronger than he would've given her credit for. And there was that word over and over again. Hydra.

"What do you mean, Hydra?" Daryl finally said.

The girl laughed again, a hollow hateful laugh, and Daryl distantly wondered if there was something secretly funny about his questions or if the girl was completely off her rocker.

Before he could get an answer from the strange girl, a group of three people came down the hallway and stopped in the hallway between his cell and hers. The first he recognized as Mr. Brown, his boss's boss, a large keyring hung on a belt loop and Daryl recognized it as the set of keys he had been entrusted with that had access to the whole building. The other two men flanked Mr. Brown and Daryl stared in shock at the firearms strapped to each of their legs.

"Ever the nuisance," Mr. Brown said, stepping menacingly towards the girl. A small part of Daryl's mind thought that he should do something- perhaps defend her- but a much larger part of his mind was too intimidated to do much more than stare. "Did you really think that this attempt would be any more effective than your last? That it wouldn't leave you broken and beaten?"

The girl smirked mockingly, "I may be bloodied and bruised, but I'm sure as hell not done fighting. I've escaped twice, what have you accomplished?"

Agent Brown bristled at the mention of his shortcomings as an interrogator. "You think you're _so_ smart, girl. You didn't get anywhere near the exit. You'll never get out, unless you cooperate and I let you out. You can't win. Even if you had the opportunity to kill me, you wouldn't be able to, you'd hesitate. You're weak."

Daryl rather disagreed- although he didn't say so- he thought that despite her malnourished and dirty form, she looked like she was born to spill blood. A spark burned in her eyes and he wondered why Mr. Brown wasn't scared of being consumed by the imminent fire.

Mr. Brown turned and approached Daryl. "I have a few questions for you about your involvement with this . . . criminal's escape. Please come with me." He unlocked the cell door and one of the guards untied the rope around Daryl's ankles before grabbing his shoulder and guiding him down the hall.

A voice called out, "It was nice meeting you, Daryl Thomson." And Daryl turned back to see the strange girl grinning as she leaned against her cell's door. He felt the burn of his gaze on his back even after he turned the corner and knew that she could no longer actually see him, and he wondered how she knew his name, since he never introduced himself.

He told Mr. Brown his account of the events, nervously sweating at the thought of being fired or something worse.

Mr. Brown finally finished questioning him and told him that he would not face any formal punishment as long as he swore to secrecy and signed some legal paperwork. Daryl let out a sigh of relief, but a small part of him wondered about the legality of that girl's confinement, and he guiltily realized that he never caught her name.

"I have a question, Mr. Brown," Daryl suddenly interrupted, causing his boss to raise an eyebrow at him. "I-It's just something that girl mentioned a couple times. She talked about Hydra, and at first I didn't remember where I'd heard of it before, but then I remembered it from history classes and isn't it that old Nazi organization that was destroyed after-"

"Don't concern yourself with her mad ramblings," Mr. Brown interrupted smoothly. "Now, if that's all, I must be going. I'll send you with an escort back to your proper work area. Stay there and don't get into any more trouble, Mr. Thomson, or you won't like the results."

And with that Daryl's wrists were untied and he was free to return to work. At first he felt like he dodged a bullet, but the more he thought about it, the more the strange girl's bloody hands haunted him, and he felt as if she had taken the bullet for him.

That night Daryl Thomson dreamed about a strange girl on a beach whose face was framed in blood as she tried to wrestle with a hurricane. He wondered if she knew it was impossible for a single person to change nature. The harsh wind slowed and he saw the fire in her eyes again. He wondered if she was human, but the cuts and tear tracks on her face seemed to prove she was. He wondered why he had ever believed that a single being couldn't change the world. He wondered if he could change the world too, like the strange girl in his dream who fought a hurricane alone on a beach.

~{I'm just a line break}~

The Director's office in SHIELD headquarters was alive with action. Coulson was flown back to the base, since he was the one who had been contacted. With Coulson came Jasper Sitwell, a regular subordinate of Coulson's and a Hydra double agent, although most people didn't know about that second one. Tony Stark showed up six hours after Pepper's computer was first hacked with the location of the hacker- he had wanted to go there directly in his Iron Man suit, but Pepper had convinced him to collaborate with SHIELD. Agent Maria Hill was also present as she had been in charge of the depressingly short updates on the search for Ryo, and although no one knew for certain that it was Ryo who contacted Stark, the few people who knew her desperately hoped it was her.

Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton were surprisingly not present in the office. As good of an agent as Romanoff was, Director Fury was still worried about any remaining injuries from her mission in Budapest. Besides, Romanoff's best trait as an agent was her ability to infiltrate and manipulate, so he really didn't want her to meet Stark casually when he was already considering sending her to keep an eye on the eccentric billionaire.

Stark delivered his findings directly to Agent Coulson, and Coulson edited the information to remove the typical Stark snark before presenting the report to the assembled group.

"The hacker was located at this abandoned military base in Maine six hours ago," Coulson said, gesturing to the map displayed on the large presentation screen. "The base was decommissioned twenty-five years ago, and our initial investigations of the site have not revealed any signs of activity. The building is fifteen stories aboveground and two levels in the basement. The team I sent there has not entered the building yet, but have reported that there are no vehicles present or lighted rooms visible. The first floor windows and doors are barricaded, but that may have been done to deter trespassers."

"We should widen the search area," Agent Sitwell suggested, "the hacker may have been there six hours ago, but they could be past Boston by now even if they were driving slowly."

Agent Hill frowned, wasn't Sitwell informed of the situation? "The hacker asked to be found. I doubt they went anywhere."

"And what if this is a trap? Do you really think that this Ryo girl knew that Agent Coulson had been in contact with Mr. Stark?"

"Ryo demonstrated on multiple occasions that she knew things she shouldn't, it wouldn't be a stretch to presume that she knew that," Hill shot back, annoyance creeping into her voice.

Coulson stepped between them, trying to diffuse the tension between the two agents. "Regardless of who it was, they asked for help. Isn't it our job as SHIELD agents to offer help even if it is a ploy?"

"This needs to be planned carefully," Director fury added, "we don't know enough about the situation to go waltzing in blindly."

Finally Stark spoke up from his chair, so quiet that the agents had almost forgotten his presence. "So this is SHIELD, billions of dollars at your disposal, and too afraid to do what it takes until after all the paperwork is in order and dozens of countermeasures are prepared."

"You have a problem, Stark?" The Director questioned coldly. "Because we don't need your help to expand the search area and plan a deeper investigation."

The two men glared at each other for a moment, before Tony smirked carelessly. "Oh good, then you won't get my help. Less work for me, I already have an interview scheduled anyways." He stood and left the room before anyone could try to stop him.

Fury cursed under his breath. "Coulson, make sure that Stark doesn't snoop around on his way out. Hill, expand the search perimeter and tell the team at the base to draw back for the moment. Sitwell . . . go deal with paperwork or whatever Coulson normally has you do."

The three agents recognized the dismissal for what it was and quickly filed out of the office. Coulson raced down the hall where Stark had left, and Hill already had her phone out to call the team at the base.

Sitwell ducked into an alcove and called his Hydra superior. "Urgent mission report, the Maine base has been compromised. It is being watched from ground level. Destroy sensitive materials and prepare for possible seizure and apprehension."

 **~{TBC}~**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, The Avengers, or anything else that looks familiar.

A/N Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! This was almost two chapters, but I figured I shouldn't leave you with a huge cliffhanger (depending on your opinion, it might still be one though). I kind of address Ryo/ Lily's name in this chapter because while she has been going by a different name all of this time, I think she'll struggle with whether to go back to her old name or accept a new name with new meaning and a new life.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Ryo sat hunched against the cell bars with her bloody hands clamped firmly over her ears.

By her estimation, a day had passed since her escape and message, and she knew it would take a bit of time for SHIELD to get to her, but her brief conversation with Daryl made the return to isolation all the more haunting. It was the first time she had talked to someone who wasn't interrogating her- someone who wasn't torturing her- in weeks-or was it months, she felt as if time had slipped away from her in her dayless nightless cell.

And now instead of the blank silence or distant echoes, Ryo had her ears covered in a vain attempt to block a faint whisper in her ears. The words were too soft to make out, but the tone slipped seamlessly between a gentle comforting mumble and a powerfully persuasive command.

Her hands did nothing to dull the faint sound and Ryo didn't know which she feared more- madness or a real source of the commanding voice.

An even clearer voice broke through her panicked thoughts. "Hey . . . are you awake?"

Ryo choked down an unhinged laugh. The voice was asking about her state of awareness now, was it waiting until she fell asleep to possess her or something?

Ryo gripped her hands tighter over her ears, but now the whispered voice was gone, replaced by the louder voice which spoke again, "Can you move?"

Slowly she opened her eyes, green orbs fixated on the ground, wanting to turn and look, but terrified of the emptiness that may be in the hallway outside of her cell. Finally, she slowly tilted her head and there in the corner of her eyes she saw dirty work boots and a pair of legs.

"Thomson," she could barely believe her eyes, "How long have you been here?"

"Just for a moment. I had to come find you."

Ryo sighed. _It's bad enough that I'm half mad, now this idiot is going to search out the worst possible way to get on the bad side of the world's largest terrorist organization._ "You should keep on moving before you get caught, it would be a shame to see an idiot like you lose any more brain power."

"I think I've got just enough brainpower to keep up with you, princess. I can't fight nature, but my wrench can handle a skull or two and I was able to get the one thing you need more than anything."

A jangling sound in Daryl's hand finally made Ryo look up and there in his hands was a large keychain glinting in the bright hallway lights.

She smiled at him, and her heart twinged at the thought of someone actually helping her after all of the time she had suffered alone in this place.

"I wouldn't say those are the only things I could have escaped with, but I guess I can take the easy way out this time. Let's get going."

The man was an idiot, turning on an organization like Hydra would follow him for the rest of his life, but Ryo wasn't going to reject an opportunity like this. Gritting her teeth Ryo clambered to her feet, thin legs shaking and scabs stretching. She rejected the offer of an arm to support her down the hallway, opting instead for a second heavy wrench Daryl had brought with him.

Pain, regret, apologies. They could all wait. He had made his choices and she would make hers. Ryo would do everything she could to finally be free and if that meant risking his life she hardly cared anymore.

The odd pair left down the hallway. Cell door ajar and a quick mind thinking of dozens of possible plans.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Tony Stark was- for lack of a better term- pissed. He maintained a cool facade as he left the SHIELD office, claiming disinterest in the continued action on the case, but internally his mind was working on overtime and alarm bells were ringing.

He was certain that the hacker was not a trap, that someone really needed help, and SHIELD wasn't acting fast enough.

He couldn't help but think back to his time in a cave in Afghanistan. Couldn't help but wonder- as he did when the nightmares were worst- if SHIELD had actually known where _he_ had been when he was suffering and simply chosen to ignore him. Chosen to leave him to pay for his misdeeds as the merchant of death.

It was unacceptable.

SHIELD may care about the media and damage reports, but there was no way in hell that Tony Stark would sit by idly any longer.

He had already been testing out new versions of his Ironman suit as he destroyed the lingering grasp of the Ten Rings. A little facility in Maine didn't scare him.

He set off towards the facility the moment that he was in his car. A fully powered Ironman suit in the back seat and Jarvis calling Pepper to reschedule any of Tony's previous plans for the day.

 _Hold on._ Tony thought desperately, speeding out of the city. _I'm on my way._

~{I'm just a line break}~

Daryl leaned against a wall gasping for breath as Ryo peaked around a corner, a stolen gun in hand and two men unconscious at their feet.

"Maybe if we had talked to them, they would've helped us. I know one of these guys, he's an alright fellow," Daryl said, exhausted from the little amount of fighting he had done. The majority of the work had been done by the scrawny girl he rescued, much to his shock.

The two had been creeping towards the center of the basement in the facility, where the only exits- an elevator and flight of stairs- were. At the sight of anyone else around the corner, Ryo had waited until they were passing before taking them by surprise and employing chokeholds, punches, and mad swings of a wrench until the target was unconscious. The gun remained unfired in Ryo's trembling hands. Daryl helped, of course, but he lacked the will and brutality to be much more than a bystander unless there was more than one person they were encountering.

"I'm not willing to take a chance on them not running off to tell their boss." Ryo retorted. "There's a janitor's closet around the corner on the left. Let's drag them in there."

Daryl sighed and grabbed one of the men's arms and began sliding them across the floor. He wasn't totally useless, just a mule forced to hide each of the dozen unconscious bodies Ryo had come across. Not that he really begrudged her for the job, in a fight she leveraged her weight impressively, but emaciated limbs could hardly drag people twice her size anywhere.

As Daryl approached the closet Ryo was holding open with the second body, he heard a faint crackling sound, like radio static. Ryo heard the sound as well and made a shushing motion at him before bending down by the first unconscious agent.

"Attention all agents. Attention all agents. Agents of rank A and B are to meet in the command room for special instructions. All other agents conceal all weapons and report to the cafeteria with the rest of the working personnel." The announcement finished and Ryo carefully fished out the walkie talkie from the agent's pocket.

Daryl slid the second agent into the closet, but when he turned to leave, Ryo shook her head slightly and shut the door with both of them remaining in the dim room.

"There are different ranks even?" Daryl said incredulously, "I mean it already felt real with the cells and guns, but ranks?"

"I found out about the ranks during my escape on my first day here," Ryo said, as she began rummaging through the unconscious men's pockets looking for anything useful she could carry with her. "The higher the letter ranks, the more more important an agent is. People like you who don't know anything probably weren't even given a letter."

Daryl was hardly bothered by her casual insults anymore, too busy wondering how he missed so much of what was happening all around him.

Outside people slowly trickled past the closet, brisk footsteps and a gentle murmur heading in the direction the pair had been going.

"I don't suppose you know where the command room or the cafeteria are in relation to where we're going?" Ryo asked, handing a gun she found in a holster on one of the men to Daryl.

"I've never heard about a command room, but I think the main boss's office is in the southeast corner of this floor. As for the cafeteria, it's on the northeast edge. The elevators and stairs are about in the middle and we're heading there from the western corridors."

Ryo nodded, thinking over the information. _Of course I never got out of here when I escaped before, I was looking for a window to jump out or an exit door, not a stairwell in the center of the building. Who would've thought this was a giant basement._

"Alright, we'll keep going, once there aren't so many people walking past."

She began pulling the jacket off of the smaller of the two men at her feet, followed by the shirt. It wasn't until she was at the belt that Daryl spoke up nervously, "Uh, what are you doing?"

Ryo sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Up close, it'll still be obvious that these clothes aren't mine, but it'll keep me from being immediately suspicious, besides it's pretty cold and my clothes are a bit worn." By a bit worn, Ryo meant that they had been covered in blood and dirt the whole time she'd been here, and the shirt and shorts were a bit threadbare for the cold winter chill.

Daryl blushed and looked away to preserve some bit of decency as Ryo changed. When the rustling of cloth stopped, he turned to see Ryo in a shirt and jacket that went past her mid-thigh and pants that looked loose even with the belt tightened as far as it would go.

"Feel free to admire my good looks," Ryo joked catching his gaze, "but I don't hear people outside anymore, so it's time to go."

She stepped past him, gun in hand once again and appearing like a normal worker- if not for the small stature and bare feet that would have only tripped in oversized shoes.

The pair continued creeping down the hallways, peeking around corners and jumping at soft noises in the eerie quiet that had settled across their side of the building.

"The elevator is right there, let's go." Daryl said looking around the corner at the shiny metal doors.

"Let's take the stairs, just in case."

Daryl looked in concern at Ryo, adrenaline could only carry a person for so long, and even he was feeling fatigued, but he conceded.

The stairs were just as suspiciously empty as the hallways had been following the announcement, and Daryl didn't know whether to be thankful for the luck or anxious that it was a trap. They climbed two flights of stairs to the ground level and with a final nod to each other, Daryl pushed open the door.

His heart dropped.

The floor was a mess of boarded up windows, discarded office furniture, and poorly placed objects.

The exits were blocked.

~{I'm just a line break}~

Agent Gregory Brown frowned as he observed the assembled group of agents in the command room. He had spent so much time, so much effort to get to his position in Hydra. He was by no means the strongest agent and he certainly did not have the power to guide Hydra's actions, but in his little facility he was king of the hill and everything had been running smoothly.

Everything, that is, until now.

A call from a superior at a larger base had brought his world crashing down.

SHIELD was watching him. Somehow when that damn girl escaped she got a message to them and now they were outside of _his_ building, watching and preparing to destroy everything he had built for himself.

Hydra couldn't allow it, of course.

No, the agents he had gathered and trained were useless to Hydra, and even he was barely worth saving.

Mr. Brown gathered his highest ranked agents and they set about sending away the information they could, before destroying the evidence that this had been the work of Hydra. Destroying files and hanging terrorist banners on the walls that proclaimed impending victory for the Ten Rings.

Away in the cafeteria, the rest of the workers were being served a feast of food, a complementary lunch as thanks for their hard work, with poisons laced throughout every dish. By the time they realized something was wrong, it would be too late. Ten or so minutes of normalcy and everyone eating calmly, and then people would be dropping to the floor dead.

But the higher ranked agents deserved something else, or so Mr. Brown thought, so after all evidence of Hydra affiliations was erased he brought out a box of cyanide pills and smiled in pride as his good well-trained agents he had spent so much time on took the pills with grim determination and dull eyes.

His life's work dropping like flies before his eyes all thanks to that damn message to SHIELD.

Agent Brown left the silent command room with a burning rage and unsated bloodlust.

But, at least he was at the top, he thought to himself. At least Hydra offered him a chance at survival if he followed the instructions properly. At least he might be able to get away in the chopper on the roof without getting followed.

He stepped into the elevator with a sigh and as it began to rise he pressed a large red button on a switch in his hand.

Poisonous gas released through the vents, just in case any agents were still alive in the basement. And, Agent Brown thought to himself with a satisfied smirk, for the brat that destroyed all of my hard work.

Little did he know that said brat had left the basement already, or that he would see her again.

~{I'm just a line break}~

A perplexed SHIELD agent rubbed their eyes refocusing the zoom on the lowest floor of the empty building they had been watching all afternoon. "I swear I saw a light for a moment, Davis."

"You're just seeing things, let me take over. Or better yet, give it a rest and come play a couple rounds with me," Davis said holding up a deck of cards with a smile. "The brass hasn't called us off yet, but apparently they're looking into expanding the perimeter, so let's take it easy while we can."

Unknown to the two agents, there had in fact been a light from the stairwell door being opened, but the door was shut and the person they were looking for was climbing more flight of stairs as they spoke.

In the stairwell Ryo and Daryl were both breathing heavily as they climbed higher into the building. The second floor- and third and fourth after that- was also blocked too much for them to get anywhere near a window to get out.

"What's the point? Even if the next floors aren't blocked, there won't be a door to exit and the windows are too high to jump from," Daryl wheezed as Ryo continued stumbling up the stairs with a tight grip on the rail.

"There has to be a way out somehow. There was dust all over the floors we've been on, they aren't the real way out," Ryo gritted her teeth and clutched the rail as a wave of dizziness passed over her. "I heard weird noises when I was brought here, I thought it was just feverish hallucinations since I'd been drugged, but I think it might have been a helicopter."

Daryl froze thinking it over. "Now that I think about it, I was flown here in the dark. I had figured there was just a landing pad near here, but I guess it could have been the roof. I wish I had paid more attention," he admitted, ducking his head in shame.

"It's too late to change that. Keep walking." Ryo ordered, barely pausing to comfort him. A slow mantra repeating in her head. _Just one more step. Just one more step. You can cry later, freedom is so close. I will not give up until I see the sky._

Up, up they climbed the flights of stairs. A small bloodied form followed by a lucky defector and finally with a shove of an old metal door Ryo stepped out from a roof access door and inhaled her first breath of fresh air in months.

She tossed her head to the sky and laughed, the harsh winter wind playing with her hair and relief she hadn't dared feel before creeping in.

In front of her on the rooftop was a shining grey helicopter glinting in the sunlight and all of the pain, the interrogations, and imagined voices didn't matter. For a moment Ryo felt free.

It was Daryl who shattered the moment, speaking up from behind her. "I don't suppose you know how to fly one of those?"

Ryo did not answer his question, instead stepping forward with a slow uneven gait, walking towards one edge of the building before pacing away to another side. Daryl watched apprehensively, momentarily concerned that she would pitch herself off the side of the building.

Ryo turned back towards the helicopter and Daryl joined her at its door.

"The ground drops off sharply on the back side of this building," Ryo started, gesturing to where she had paced, "we're at the top of a cliff. I may not be able to fly this chopper, but I'm willing to bet there's a parachute or two inside of it."

"That's mad. Maybe there's another exit downstairs. The basement was bigger than the aboveground floors, so it must be extending out under the forest in front of the building, maybe there's some other entrance. Let's just go back and-"

His words were cut off as Ryo grabbed his shirt collar and shook him slightly. "Maybe you haven't gotten it into your thick skull yet, but there is nothing good waiting down there for either of us," she shouted hoarsely, desperation creeping into her voice. "We got lucky that everyone was called away when we were escaping, but sooner or later they'll find out I'm gone and when that happens I'm not going to be around here to get cut up again. Are you with me or against me?"

A mad gleam was back in her eyes and Daryl wondered if releasing this stranger had been the safest choice. "I'm not the enemy here," he said, trying to calm her, "but I'm not going to jump off of a building to get away from here."

A hurt look crossed Ryo's face, and she quickly released him and turned away, trying not to let any tears leak out after the slight betrayal. _Why wouldn't he just trust her. She got them this far._ "Then have fun finding your own way out, but I'm leaving as soon as possible." She straightened her back and fired at the helicopter window.

Glass shattered and Daryl uselessly mumbled that he didn't think the helicopter was locked as he backed up.

Ryo climbed into the helicopter and shortly thereafter tossed out two emergency parachute backpacks onto the cold roof. Instead of emerging, Daryl saw Ryo fiddling with the control board, jiggling a cover plate until she finally pried it off and tossed it to the ground.

"Uh, I don't think that's how you turn it on," he told her cautiously as she began pulling at the wires she could reach, snapping them and tearing them apart.

"Getting away doesn't mean much if I can be easily followed," she said finally climbing out of the helicopter. "Have you changed your mind about coming with, they'll be looking for me soon."

Before Daryl could respond, the squeaking of hinges echoed from the stairwell and Ryo reached for his arm to drag him to semi-cover behind the helicopter as a shot rang out.

Ryo's eyes widened in shock as Daryl slumped forward and collapsed behind the helicopter with her.

A red stain was slowly blossoming on his side and Ryo reached for the wound, small hands applying what little pressure she had the strength for.

"You aren't where you're supposed to be," Agent Brown called from the door, "If you know what's good for you, you'll surrender and I'll spare your life, girl."

Ryo's mind raced as she forced away the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. _It sounds like it's just him for now. But even if I distract him, I can't get away with Daryl. Can I really leave Daryl bleeding here like this? Why isn't SHIELD here yet?_ She stared hollowly at her unexpected savior who was now bleeding out in front of her.

 _I'm such a fool. All of this time and I freeze up when it matters most instead of picking a side and taking action. I chose a new name when I got here and what does it go to show for, besides vanity. Ryo Inari Noble. What do names that mean understanding or success matter for if you still act the same as you did with any other name. Noble was my half-brothers name and if I cared for him as much as I should, then I would have found a way back to him by now, no matter what it would do to the people in this universe or to myself._

"Daryl," she whispered leaning closer to him, "keep your eyes open. Look at me! You were right. You were right that we should have looked for another way off of this roof. You were right that clearly my real name isn't Japanese. You were right that I'm not as strong as I look. But please hold on." She guided his hands to cover his wound where she was keeping pressure and firmly pressed them down before slipping her own hands free as he watched with shocked hazy eyes. "Please, I don't want to feel the weight of anyone else's life on my shoulders, so please take care of yourself for a moment."

"Surrender, girl. We've been through this before, haven't you learned what disobedience earns you."

"Surrender? Me?" Ryo said stepping out slightly from behind the helicopter, a crazed laugh bubbling up. "I would never do that," she said raising her own gun towards Agent Brown.

Agent Brown's jaw clenched in anger. "You don't have the will to shoot me, kid."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I want my freedom, and I don't care about what it takes to get it."

"If that's the case, then why don't you tell me all of that information I've been asking for and my organization will compensate you generously. Hell, I might even be able to get your friend over there to a hospital."

Ryo hesitated, not trusting the offer, but desperately wishing it were true. And then beyond Agent Brown she saw it in the sky. Not a bird. Not a plane. And no, not superman.

A shiny red speck rapidly approaching.

Ryo grinned.

"What do you say, girl, why don't you put the weapon down and we can get away from here," Agent Brown offered, wanting a chance to get to the helicopter and get away before his window of opportunity for escape closed.

Ryo lowered the gun slightly, watching in the corner of her eyes as Ironman got ever closer. He began to dive down, as if to enter the building from the ground floor. _Well, that won't do._ With a mad smile Ryo brought the gun back up, towards the agent and then past him to the sky, and fired the gun.

The sound echoed across the rooftop and beyond, catching the attention of Tony Stark.

At the noise, Agent Brown startled and moved towards the entrance of the stairwell for cover. "Your aim leaves a lot to be desired," he shouted at Ryo.

The response did not come from her as he expected, but instead from next to him from the edge of the building. "Unfortunately for you, I won't aim to miss."

Hovering at the edge of the building, metal shining in the sunlight, and more breathtaking than Ryo had ever imagined was Ironman with a hand raised at each of the gun wielding people on the rooftop.

"Now why don't the two of you start talking before I knock you both out," Tony said looking between the scrawny girl and older man who were both wearing some kind of uniform and ready to shoot each other.

Agent Gregory Brown cursed his luck. _The brass said they'd stall SHIELD for longer than this. Just my luck. I guess I don't get to try and escape after all._ With a last glance at Ryo, he darted towards the stairwell diving for cover as Ironman shot a blast towards him. In his brief moment of cover he grabbed the cyanide pill he brought with him and tossed it in his mouth. By the time that Ironman reached the small distance to the stairwell and caught up with him, Agent Gregory Brown had finished seizing up and fell still for the final time of his life.

When Stark exited the stairwell he did not see the second gun wielder at first, until he saw someone kneeling on the other side of the helicopter.

He slowly approached, as if nearing a wild animal, until he saw the mess on the ground.

Blood splattered here and there, shattered glass, a discarded gun, and the girl kneeled at a man's side putting pressure on a gunshot wound.

She looked to him, tears making lines through the blood and dirt on her face and begged. "Please help him. I'll tell you anything you want to know, but please save him."

"Jarvis, get in contact with SHIELD, find out where there recon team is, have them prepare for a medical emergency," he kneeled by the bleeding man, easing him into his arms and holding him as carefully as he could. "I'll be back soon," he told the crying girl, before flying off the building with Daryl in his arms.

With the immediate threats and problems gone, Ryo collapsed on the ground crying and weak. The cold air bit at her skin and though she shivered violently, she couldn't bring herself to care. Red blood stained her hands- Daryl's blood- and beneath that were older layers of her own blood from her time as a prisoner in this cruel unforgiving place.

All Ryo could think was that Daryl was hurt and it was her fault.

Getting hurt she could handle, but the nagging feeling that she was getting other people hurt tore her up inside.

Growing up, her mother went through partners like most went through shoes, and while that brought her a dear brother who instilled in her a love for heroes and the unimaginable, it also brought drunkards who lashed out at her for being evidence that her mother had slept with other men. She could handle that.

Growing up, she was told clearly that her father left before she was even born and she knew her last name Barnes belonged to a stranger in her life. She could handle that.

Growing up, she chose to shy away from friendships, studying all she could, to achieve a life of freedom away from the pain she was surrounded by. It was lonely. She could handle that.

Growing up, she broke her own rules and made a close friend anyways, a boy named Cas who was still hopeful enough to think he'd grow up to be an astronaut. She let him close and he tried to share her burdens. One day a new one of her mother's angry drunk boyfriends frightened them- she shouldn't have provoked him- and they both ran. Right into a busy street. The last look on Cas' face was concern. She placed the blame on herself. He didn't grow up to be an astronaut, he would always be a child. The weight of a life was on her shoulders. She couldn't handle that.

It was fitting that she, too was hit by a car years later. She hoped he didn't face a hell like this.

And now a stranger, Daryl Thomson, was bleeding out and it was her fault. If she hadn't been here, he would still be alive. Mr. Brown in the stairwell would still be alive. She couldn't handle that.

Tony Stark returned to find her crying softly on the ground.

"Who are you?" He asked gently bending down by her and removing his faceplate.

"I've been going by Ryo Inari Noble for a little while, but I don't know who I am anymore."

This is the girl SHIELD was looking for, Tony thought, she's the one who asked for help. "It's okay, it's over now," he soothed reaching to comfort her. "Let's get going." He gently picked her up with little resistance.

"I didn't think anyone was coming to save me," she admitted brokenly, "I was giving up hope on Fury or Coulson coming to look for me."

"They never stopped looking."

"Are they here? I don't trust SHIELD, just them."

Tony held her tighter, flying off the roof. "Well, I'll watch out for you until they get here then."

With that he carefully flew the malnourished girl off the roof. A search of the building could wait, he knew where he was needed most.

He had already failed Yinsen, he didn't want to fail again.

The strange pair flew to safety. So different, and yet so alike. Filled with arrogance and intelligence in equal measure and hoarding blame to themselves. Burdening themselves with the weight of the world as if everything bad in the world was somehow their own mistake.

Both broken and hiding behind masks of their own creation.

One in a strange new reality where his life's business had been turned against him and he now must seek to protect not destroy.

The other in a strange new reality with nothing to show for her time besides scars and a strange voice in her head.

 **~{TBC}~**

A/N Remember that possible cliffhanger I mentioned at the beginning when I said this was almost two chapters? I almost cut the chapter when Daryl was shot. (Insert evil laughter here)


End file.
